Twisted Emotions
by Syd and Z
Summary: (PRDT) Final chapter up. Tensions rise.
1. Default Chapter

Twisted Emotions by Teal-Becky102285 A/N: Ah the latest endeavor by us two crazy writers...it's a DT ficcy...We own none of these characters, minus Naomi, who belongs to Becky. So don't steal, or we'll hurt you. Read and Review  
  
Chapter One  
  
Naomi Carlton walked into Reefside. It was her first day of school. She was dressed in blue overalls over a black shirt with short sleeves. Her dark red hair was done in two braids that rested on her shoulder. She also had on a black and white bandana on the top of her head. She heard the bell ringing and was jostled about as students rushed to get to their classes. As soon as the crowd died down, she stood up straight, adjusted her glasses and looked around the large hallway, trying to find her first class. Glancing down at her schedule, she made her way to room 205, and knocked quietly on the door.  
  
  
  
27-year-old Dr. Thomas Oliver stood in the middle of teaching a lesson when there was a slight knock on the door. Walking over, he opened it. There, stood a girl, no taller than 5'2, her blue eyes hidden behind her glasses stared back into his brown ones. He cleared his throat.  
  
"Can I help you?" He asked politely. She nodded.  
  
"I'm Naomi Carlton and I'm supposed to be in this class." She replied. Tommy nodded.  
  
"Alright, come on in." He told her as he held the door open. Naomi entered the room and looked around at her future classmates. Four she spotted almost immedality looked quite busy, and not the least bit interested in her. The girl in yellow and black sat cross-legged on a stool, strumming her guitar lovingly and singing softly. The boy in blue sitting next to her, was too entranced by his computer to even care about the soft and yet mesmerizing sound coming from the girls mouth. The boy in red that sat across from the yellow clad female, tried to hide his stares as he looked over his notes. And finally, the boy in white that sat between the red and yellow humans was doodling in a notebook and listening contently to the female singer.  
  
"Class." Tommy said loudly, getting everyone's attention. The students looked up.   
  
"We have a new student." He said, presenting Naomi. Naomi felt everyone staring at her, like they were taking her in, evaluating her. She held her tattered black notebook to her chest and ducked her head shyly.   
  
"This is Naomi Carlton." Tommy announced.   
  
"I trust you all will give her a warm welcome." He smiled. He scanned the room, looking for an empty seat.   
  
"Naomi, why don't you go sit by Connor?" He said. He pointed to the guy in red. Naomi slowly made her way over to the seat.   
  
"Now, Kira, Ethan, if you two wouldn't mind putting away the music and games, we can get started." Tommy finished. Kira placed her guitar beside her and smiled at Naomi.  
  
"Kira Ford." She said, sticking her hand out. Naomi shook it and smiled back.  
  
"Naomi." She replied. Kira nodded and opened her book to take notes. Naomi opened her notebook as well and began to write. Tommy stood at the front of the class.  
  
"Now class, todays were going to be learning about the Triassic period. And to further advance your learning about this particular topic, today we're going to be going to the museum to learn about the bones of the dinosaurs. Please gather your things and head towards the bus." He instructed the class, who eagerly gathered their books. Naomi picked up her things. Kira smiled at the lithe girl. For some reason, Naomi's shyness made her want to take her under her wing. She walked beside Naomi as they went to the busses. "So, where are you from?" Kira asked. Naomi looked at her, as if she was surprised that someone was talking to her.   
  
"New York, but I've been in boarding school in Jersey for the last.." She paused, thinking for a bit.   
  
"Five years. My dad's job relocated me, and the folks didn't want to be so far from me, so they pulled me out and here I am." She said. They got outside. Everyone was filling the busses. Kira got on, followed by Naomi. Kira saw Ethan and Connor sitting together and Trent sitting by himself near them. She was tempted to sit by him, but then saw Naomi sit in the back alone. Kira decided go sit with her. Kira plopped herself down beside Naomi.  
  
"So New York huh? I'm hoping that my music will take me their one day." Kira told her. Naomi smiled.  
  
"You're a musician?" She asked. Kira nodded.  
  
"Yah, I love to sing and write, and play the guitar whenever possible." Kira chuckled. Naomi smiled. She'd just made a new friend.  
  
  
  
Up towards the front of the bus, Conner sat silently as Ethan and Trent talked. He stared aimlessly out the window and sighed. Ethan jabbed him in the side.  
  
"What's up man?" He asked. Conner's brow furrowed.  
  
"There's nothing wrong." He replied almost immedality. Ethan chuckled.  
  
"Sure man, then what's up with the lovesick look in your eyes?" He joked. Conner glared at him, then realized it was a joke, and blushed. Trent laughed.  
  
"So there is someone!" The dark haired boy prodded.  
  
"I guess." Connor mumbled. "Well, spill man, who?" Ethan asked. He and Trent stared at him, interested. Connor blinked. "K...Cassidy." He said. Ethan and Trent stared at him, their look of interest switching to a look of disbelief.   
  
  
  
They all got to the museum, Dr. Oliver told them to look around the museum and get as much different dinosaur information on the worksheet as they could, and that they couldn't get the name that someone else has gotten. As the class separated, Dr. Oliver tapped Naomi on the shoulder. She turned and looked at him.  
  
"Since it's your first day, you are excused from doing the assignment." He said, smiling warmly. Naomi shook her head. "That's all right sir, I actually was hoping I could participate." She said. She smiled shyly as she walked off.   
  
Ethan rubbed his hands together excitedly as he made his way to the Triceratops exhibit. This was going to be so easy, he thought to himself. He had Tricera power in him, so obviously he'd know a lot about them and it would only seem natural that he get that one. He walked into the exhibit and was greeted by the sight of the new girl crouching in front of the large triceratops skeleton.  
  
"I didn't know this dinosaur was taken." He said. The girl looked at him. Her eyes seemed to widen a bit. "I. I'm sorry." She said.   
  
"I figured the fact that Triceratops is such an obvious choice, no one would come by, thinking someone else would grab it up." She said apologetically. She turned back to the statue.   
  
"Tri, middle English word, stemming from Latin and Greek roots, shares a definition with trei, which possesses indo-European roots. Cera, or Kera, Greek for horn, and Ops, which is face, from Latin." She said to herself. Ethan stared at her, shocked. "That's not even on the plague." He said.   
  
"How did you-"? "I'm a word wizard." She responded.   
  
"I like reading up on words and their roots and such." She said, she looked up at Ethan.   
  
"I'm a freak, aren't I?" She said. Ethan gave a friendly smile.  
  
"Hey, I won't if you don't think I'm a freak for spending almost an entire day trying to beat a dumb computer game." He said. "What game?" She asked. "Wizard of the Wood." He said. Her face lit up. "Oh my god! How far did you get? I almost won, but that stupid wizard wouldn't give me the code." She said. Ethan looked at her, slightly shocked.  
  
"You do computer games?" He asked. "Sometimes." She said.   
  
"I'm Naomi by the way." She said. "I'm Ethan." He said. Naomi smiled. "Well, Ethan, since we were both seekers of the code in Wizard of the Wood, how about I give you Tri here?" She asked. Ethan looked at her. "Really?" He asked. Naomi nodded.   
  
"Dr. Oliver said since it was my first day, I didn't have to do the assignment, but I figured I should, didn't want him to think I was a slacker, but I don't want everyone else to think I'm some sort of brown- noser." She rambled. Ethan nodded.  
  
"You've got yourself a deal Naomi." He replied.  
  
  
  
Kira sat in a darkened room towards the back of the museum, reading quietly. It was somewhat of a library, and she'd found some interesting books on her dinosaur, the Pterodactyl. Yawning slightly she set the book down and rubbed her eyes. She quickly wrote down some more information regarding her topic and placed the book back on the self and left the room. She walked towards the back door and opened it to get some fresh air. Sitting there, in a corner on the railing, was Conner. She tilted her head and stared at him. He seemed to be asleep. Kira chuckled inwardly. 'Just like him to be asleep when there's an assignment to be done.' She told herself. Kira grinned as she creaped closer to Connor, lowering her face close to his ear. She took a deep breath, about to startle him awake. "I'm resting my eyes, not sleeping." Connor said. Kira jumped back, surprised. Connor looked up, smiling a bit.   
  
"Scared ya, didn't I?" He asked. Kira narrowed her eyes.  
  
"No." She said indignantly.   
  
"Anyway, why aren't you doing your work?" She asked. Connor stood up, stretching. "Already did. I made my way to the T-Rex before anyone else, got some info and viola, I'm done." He said. Kira stared at him.  
  
"You used your super speed, didn't you?" She asked. Connor smiled sheepishly. Kira rolled her eyes.  
  
"There should be some sort of class teaching you not to use your Dino Powers in public places." She said smacking his arm lightly. He grinned as her hand brushed against his arm. 'Whoa, down boy... Now is not the time or place to get turned on by Kira.' His mind scolded. As he went to shift his body, his center of gravity shifted and he fell from the railing. He landed with a 'thump' on the ground. Kira leaned over the railing, and looked down at him.  
  
"Wow, sit much?" She asked before going down the steps to help him up. She bent down and grabbed his arm and helped to pull him up. He crashed forward into her and sent them both sprawling to the ground. Conner's face landed inches from Kira's. The two sat there, silent for a while, unsure what to say, unsure what to do. Connor stared into her eyes. "Are you hurt?" He whispered, as if he was afraid to speak. Kira numbly shook her head. "No, I. I'm ok." She said softly. Connor pushed himself up to a sitting position, Kira did so as well. They sat there, staring at each other for what seemed like forever. Finally, Connor, unable to bear it anymore, leaned in and brushed his lips against hers. Kira was shocked at first, then was filled with a feeling that unnerved her a bit-happiness was the best way to describe it. It was as if this was exactly what she wanted, but didn't know she wanted. She responded to the kiss, lifting her hands to gently hold his face. They became heavily engrossed in the feel of each other's lips, so much so that they didn't notice the angry young man in white walking away from the scene. The both mutually pulled away and blushed. Conner tucked a piece of stray hair behind her ear. She turned her head and smiled at him. Kira looked at her watch.  
  
"We should probably be getting back." She whispered. Conner nodded and stood, then helped Kira to her feet. They walked side by side slowly till Conner stopped and turned to face her.  
  
"So where do we go from here?" He asked as he brushed his fingers over her cheek. Kira blushed and smiled. She shrugged. Conner smiled.  
  
"Will you be my girlfriend?" He asked. Kira looked up at him and nodded.  
  
"I'd love to." Connor smiled.   
  
"Great." He said. His hand slipped down and he took hers in his. Kira smiled. The two walked back to the bus together, hand in hand, as everyone else was getting on. Trent stood by, glaring at Connor as they passed. "Cassidy, huh?" He said as he got on the bus. Kira looked at Connor.  
  
"What was that about?" She asked. Connor sighed and looked at her. "He and Ethan were bugging me about who I liked, and I know he likes you, and I didn't want to say I like you, because well...It would've been awkward. So I said Cassidy." Kira smiled.  
  
"Cassidy? That was the best you could do, there's so many better lies. Like, a poisonous snake.......or a rabid dog..........or a cat scratching on a chalk board." She said. Connor laughed. They got on the bus. They saw Naomi and Ethan sitting together in a heavy discussion about video games. Ethan looked over at Kira and Connor and gave them both a weird look before watching them sit down a few rows behind them.  
  
"What was that?" Naomi asked, noticing the look. Ethan looked at her. "Nothing, it's just that, well, it's a little jarring seeing those two together." Ethan said. Naomi turned and looked over to see Kira and Connor together. She was leaning against him, he had his arm around her shoulder.  
  
"Do they hang out in separate social groups?" Naomi asked, turning back to Ethan. "No, I mean, the three of us are friends, it's just...Well, I just never thought of them as a couple. You know?" He asked. "Not really." Naomi said, laughing a bit. Ethan laughed.  
  



	2. New enemy and a late night phone call

Trent sat alone at the front of the bus. 'Alone'. The word echoed through his mind. His 'father' didn't care about him, and apparently neither did Kira.  
  
"Dumb bitch." He muttered under his breath. He opened his bag and pulled out his sketchpad. He'd been working on a new drawing of Kira. He'd drawn it so that it was almost real, and left nothing to the imagination. He tore out the piece of paper and ripped it to shreds. He cracked opened the window and tossed the paper out, watching the wind pick up the pieces.  
  
  
  
"So, how long, exactly, have you..?" Kira asked. Connor's arm was around her shoulders and she lay against him, absentmindedly playing with his fingers.  
  
"Honestly?" He asked. Kira nodded. "Since I saw you running away from the sprinkler after getting chewed out by Randall." He smiled. Kira tilted her head to look at him.  
  
"You're serious?" She asked. Connor nodded. She softly elbowed him. "You could've told me." She said.  
  
"Sorry." He laughed softly. "How long have you?" He asked. Kira sighed.  
  
"I think around the time you were trying out for that soccer thing." She said. "I mean, I thought being on the whole saving the world team thing was going to be my only way of interacting with you, and when the thought of you leaving the team came up, it just brought all these confusing feelings and I realized I liked you a lot." She said. Connor smiled and kissed her temple. She shifted slightly and watched as Trent drew angrily into his book. Conner looked at her.  
  
"Something wrong Kira?" he asked gently. She nodded.  
  
"Yah, I think something's up with Trent." She replied.  
  
"I think he's pissed at me." Connor sighed. He leaned his head against the window, exasperated. Kira sat up and leaned over to him, capturing his lips in a kiss. This one was different then the one before. Their fist kiss was like opening the floodgates to their true feelings, but it was still a bit timid, this wasn't. It was confidence, reassuring. After it ended, Kira cuddled up close to him and the two slept the rest of the ride back to school.  
  
  
  
Trent stormed off the bus and made his way back into the school.  
  
"It's payback time." he murmured as he slammed his locker shut.  
  
  
  
Conner and Kira climbed off the bus and walked into the school holding hands. Conner looked at Kira and nudged her lightly.  
  
"Want to come over for a bit? You might have to deal with Eric, but it'd be you and me." He said. Kira smiled.  
  
"I'd love to, but I've got band practice." She said, regretfully.  
  
"Well, how about I sit in, and then afterwards we can get some grub? Future Grammy winners got to eat, right?" He said. Kira blushed.  
  
"Sounds good." She said. They walked into school together, hand in hand, leaving many people to stare. Why was Connor McKnight, major jock, with Kira Ford, punk Avril clone?  
  
  
  
Naomi was heading home after school when she saw Ethan walking home. She went up to him.  
  
"Ethan, hey." She said. Ethan turned to see her and smiled, slowing his pace to walk beside her.  
  
"Hey, what's up? How was the rest of your first day at good ole Reefside High?" He asked. Naomi shrugged.  
  
"All right I guess." She said. "So, you heading home?" She asked. Ethan shrugged.  
  
"I might go to Cyberspace, play some games."  
  
"What's Cyberspace?" Naomi asked.  
  
"It's this like a hang out." He said. "You want to come?"  
  
"Eh, can't. Parents wanted me to come home, help with some unpacking and such. I was actually wondering if you could help me." She said.  
  
"Sure." He said. "What is it?"  
  
"All right, well, as much as I love computer games, I'm clueless when it comes to the hardware. Could you come over and kind of make sure I don't plug the keyboard into the electrical socket?" She laughed. Ethan smiled.  
  
"Sure thing." He said.   
  
Elsa stood watching Kira and Conner as they entered Kira's band rehearsal.  
  
"Stupid rangers." She muttered under her breath. She looked into the darkness.  
  
"White Ranger! Get over here." She snarled. The white clad ranger slowly walked into the light.  
  
"You called?" Came his voice.  
  
"I want you to take Zeltrax and some Tyrandadrones and rain on the lovebirds parade." She said. The White ranger looked at her.  
  
"Is this what Master Mesogog wants?" He asked. Elsa narrowed her eyes and approached him.  
  
"It is what Mistress Elsa wants." She snarled.  
  
  
  
"So, what do you prefer, boarding school, or public?" Ethan asked as he and Naomi walked together.  
  
"Well, co-ed is a definite plus in the public education side. Girls can be so catty and competitive." Naomi said. "And, it's nice to actually wear something besides pleated skirts, knee socks and blazers." She said.  
  
"Hey guys." Came a voice. They turned to see Connor and Kira come over.  
  
"Hey." Ethan said. "Where are the new lovebirds heading to?" Ethan smirked. Kira smacked him upside the head.  
  
"Not that it's your business, but Connor's coming to my band practice."  
  
"Aw, only been together for a few hours, and already joined at the hip, it gets ya, right here." Ethan said, placing a hand on his heart. Connor, Kira and Naomi rolled their eyes.  
  
"What about you two?" Conner asked.  
  
"Ethan's going to help me set up my computer at home." Naomi said.  
  
"Oh, Ethan handling technical stuff, let me be shocked." Connor smirked.  
  
"How can you handle anything, if you're hands are cut off, pretty boy." Came a low voice. The four teens spun around to see a white ranger, Zeltrax and some tyranadrones.  
  
"Who is that?" Connor said, shocked to see a ranger.  
  
"Uh, hey guys," Naomi said to the new arrivals. "Aren't you a little early for Halloween?" She asked. The white ranger looked at her, and laughed a bit.  
  
"Perhaps, if this was a costume." He said in a sinister voice. He pulled out his weapon, sending a blast of energy at Naomi. She shrieked as it hit her, sending her sprawling onto her back.  
  
"Naomi!" Ethan exclaimed, going to her side. Kira and Connor kept their eyes on the enemies.  
  
"Is she all right?" Kira asked. Ethan checked her pulse.  
  
"Yeah, just unconscious." Ethan said.  
  
"Unfortunately you won't be as lucky." Zeltrax bellowed. Kira rolled her eyes.  
  
"I'm so over this. Lets get them." She darted forward and jumped to kick the White ranger, but was met with what seemed to be like a wall. He grabbed her ankle and spun her straight into a wall.  
  
"Kira!" Connor exclaimed. He glared at the white ranger. "OK, I don't know or care who you are, but I AM SO GOING TO KICK YOUR BUTT!" He soon morphed and went into battling the white ranger. A Black figure appeared. It was Dr. Oliver. He went to Kira and helped her to her feet.  
  
"You all right?" He asked. Kira nodded. "Good, you better help Connor." He said. "I'll take care of Zeltrax." He said. Kira nodded as she morphed as well. Ethan followed suit and fought the Tyranadrones.  
  
Kira ran forward and kicked the White Ranger square in the back and sent him forward a bit.  
  
"Stupid bitch." he grumbled as he grabbed his sword and slashed Conner, then Kira.  
  
"Pretty Kira.....it's too bad." he muttered before kicking her around.  
  
"Guys!" Ethan yelled. He left his post guarding Naomi and went to help them. "Leave them alone!" He grunted, kicking the ranger in the head. The White ranger turned to Ethan and laughed. He looked at Connor and Kira.  
  
"I'm done, for now." He said. And with that he disappeared, as did Zeltrax and the 'drones. Dr. Oliver went over to the others. He and Ethan both checked on Connor and Kira.  
  
"You two all right?" Ethan asked as he helped Connor sit up. Connor grunted.  
  
"Yeah, just in major pain." He said. He saw Kira lying on her back. He struggled over to her. "You all right?" He asked. Kira winced.  
  
"My head, and well, everything else, really hurts." She groaned. Connor gently helped her sit up and held her close to him. Suddenly, a branch fell struck Ethan in the back of the head, he fell forward.  
  
"AH!" He looked up to see Naomi wielding a branch standing over him.  
  
"Where are my friends?" She demanded.  
  
"Hey, we're the good guys!" Ethan said.  
  
"Right, and that dude wearing duds like yours knocked me out because he's such a nice guy. Not buying it, now where are they!" Ethan pointed to a general direction.  
  
"They went over there."He said. Naomi smacked him once more with the brach and took off running.The four rangers powered-down.Kira rubbed her eyes.  
  
"I'm so not going to band rehersal." she muttered. Connor struggled to his feet and helped Kira up, letting her lean against him.  
  
"Yeah, I'll take you home." He said as he led her away. Dr. Oliver helped Ethan to his feet.  
  
"Man, I never want to tick her off." Ethan said, referring to Naomi. Dr. Oliver laughed.  
  
"You better go find her." He said. Ethan nodded and went off to find her.  
  
  
  
"Ethan?! Kira?! Connor?!" Naomi yelled as she searched wildly for them.  
  
"Naomi." Ethan said as he found her. Naomi turned and ran over to him. She lunged at him, wrapping her arms around him in a hug.  
  
"You're all right!" She exclaimed. "I was so worried." Ethan hugged her back. He couldn't help smile at the feel of her so close. 'Whoa.' He thought. 'Do I like her?'.  
  
"I'm OK." He said. Naomi pulled back and looked at him.  
  
"I thought those multi-colored freaks hurt you." She said. 'Multi-colored freaks?' Ethan thought. 'I'm insulted.'  
  
"Multi-colored freaks?" He said. "Oh you mean the power rangers." He paused to think of a good lie. "The black, blue, red and yellow ones showed up after the other one hurt you. They started fighting those freaky looking things. We wanted to stay and help but they told us to leave and that they'd protect you." Naomi looked at him.  
  
"You mean they were the good guys?" She asked. Ethan nodded. Naomi bit her lip. "Oops."  
  
"What?"  
  
"I kind of went postal on the blue guy..."  
  
"No kidding." Ethan muttered.  
  
"What?" Naomi asked.  
  
"Nothing." Ethan said. "Well, you know what, I'm sure they understand." He said.  
  
"Where are Connor and Kira?" Naomi asked.  
  
"They went home. I was heading back to see if you were all right, and the Power Rangers said you went looking for us." Naomi nodded.  
  
"Yah I am, well I was." She replied. "But now everything's ok." She said. Ethan nodded.  
  
"Alright! Let's go see about your computer." He said. "That is, only if you're sure you're all right. You took a pretty nasty fall." He said. Naomi shrugged.  
  
"I might have a bump on the head, but I'll survive." She smiled. Honestly, she wasn't feeling all that up to it, she wanted to go home, crawl into bed and sleep, but she also wanted to spend time with her new friend Ethan.  
  
  
  
A loud and somewhat annoying ring of the telephone stirred the former ranger from her sleep. She groggily groped for the phone and finally found it.  
  
"Whoever this is I want you to realize that it's 2 in the morning." She groaned angerily into the reciever. The male voice on the other end of the line chuckled.  
  
"Hey Kim." Came the voice. "Sorry, time difference, forgot about it." Kimberly smiled and laid on her back.  
  
"Zach, hey." She said. "How's Paris?" She asked.  
  
"Slammin'." He replied. "French food, French wine, French women, what's not to like?" Kimberly laughed.  
  
"How's the show coming along?" She asked.  
  
"Well, good news, our European tour's almost over, and I think we're going to be doing a month in good ole California."  
  
"That's great." Kimberly said.  
  
"Yeah. I think I can wrangle three tickets." Zach said. Kimberly yawned.  
  
"Three?" She asked.  
  
"Oh....Did I say three? I meant two." Zach said quickly.  
  
"Zachary." Kimberly said in a no nonsense tone. "Now, Trini and myself make two, who's the third?"  
  
"Uh.........Angela?" Zach offered.  
  
"Nice try, but we both know Angela's in Brazil, try again." Kimberly said. Zach sighed.  
  
"Fine, fine. I heard that Tommy's not too far from you, and I thought I'd get ahold of him and see if he wanted to-"  
  
"What?!" Kimberly whispered harshly. "Tommy's in California? Last I heard he was off doing some Billy Wannabe Science stuff in some island or something."  
  
"He's now teaching in Reefside, right by the Greysons, and just a fifteen minute drive away from where my two favorite ladies are."  
  
"Flattery will get you squatt, my dear." Kimberly sighed. "Listen, I've got early shift at the hospital tomorrow, so I need some sleep. I'll talk to you when it's actually daylight here in the U.S., OK?"  
  
"All right, give Trini my love." He said.  
  
"Will do." Kimberly said as she hung up. 


	3. Water and Conner, don't mix

Kira eased herself into Conner's car and leaned against the seat. Conner plopped down beside her in the driver's seat and turned the engine over. He leaned over and kissed her cheek. She smiled and kissed him back. Conner backed out of the parking space and sped out of the parking lot.  
  
"Alright, so you're coming over right?" He asked. She nodded.  
  
"Yeah defanility. Can we stop at my place first? I need to grab something." She said. Conner nodded and drove in the direction of her house. He pulled into the driveway and pulled the keys from the ignition.  
  
"Want me to come in with you?" He asked. Kira nodded.  
  
"That'd be nice." She replied. Both teens climbed from the red mustang and walked towards the house. Kira unlocked the door and went inside. The two walked into her house. As soon as she closed the door, she grabbed Connor and kissed him passionately. Connor returned the kiss with equal emotion. He pulled back a bit. "I thought you had to get something." He smiled. Kira grinned.  
  
"I lied. Actually, the thought of making out while your twin brother was home didn't sound too romantic, I just didn't want to sound.... weird or whatever by saying anything." She laughed. Connor's smile widened. "Not a problem." He smiled. The two resumed kissing. "You want to come see my room?" She asked between kisses. Connor nodded.  
  
"You are so dead." Ethan said in a low voice.   
  
"It is payback time." "Yeah, you and what army?" His opponent scoffed.   
  
"I'm so going to kick your butt again."   
  
"We'll see about that." Ethan said. He moved the joystick of the computer rapidly, as did his opponent, but like the five rounds before, he lost. "Now, what was that?" Naomi smiled, putting the joystick down. Ethan glared at her. "How did you beat me at Space Warriors? That's like so my game!" He said.  
  
"Well, when you don't have much of a social life in boarding school, you manage to perfect your warrior skills." Naomi shrugged.   
  
"I can teach you some combos if you want." Ethan groaned. "No thanks, I want to keep some dignity in tacked." He said. Naomi laughed. Ethan groaned again and looked at his watch.  
  
"Wanna go and hang out at the park?" He asked. Naomi checked the time.  
  
"Actually, I'm supposed to be home soon anyways, so that'd maybe another time." She replied. Ethan nodded. Both teens stood and left Cyberspace, Naomi heading her house, Ethan for his.  
  
  
  
"That girl..." Mesagog said, watching Naomi heading home.   
  
"The rangers seemed to be quite taken by her." "Seems they're friends with the little twit, so what?" Elsa said, not getting the point. Mesagog turned and looked at her. "So what? You don't seem to get it. The rangers are little fools with pure hearts. They'll give anything for the ones they care for." Elsa got what he was saying, a smile creeping to her lips.  
  
"So we use Mousy down there as a bargaining chip?" "Exactly."   
  
Naomi was taking a short cut through the woods, admiring the environment when someone appeared before her. Naomi jumped back a bit and looked at the person. It was a woman, dressed in black, with black makeup.   
  
"Hello, child." She said. "Uh.....Yeah........Hi......" Naomi said. "Didn't know this town had a heavy Goth populous."  
  
"My name is Elsa. My master wishes for your presence." The woman said. Naomi's eyebrow rose. "Your master?" "Yes. You can come voluntarily or..." She smirked as Tyranodrones appeared behind her. Naomi recognized them from the day before. She ran away.   
  
"After her!" Elsa bellowed. Naomi ran as fast as she could.  
  
"Leave me alone!" She screamed. Ethan stopped in his tracks when he heard a voice like Elsa's bellow 'after her' and then heard Naomi scream.   
  
"Aw man." He groaned. He found a deserted area and set his bag down.   
  
"Hey guys, there's trouble, and I think backup might be needed." He said in his morpher/communicator. Connor and Kira were lying on her bed, in the middle of a heavy make out session when they heard Ethan on their communicators. Kira groaned as she rolled off of Connor. Connor raised his communicator to his mouth.  
  
"We're on our way." He sighed. Naomi panted as she ran away from the Tyranodrones. She looked back to see if they were still behind her, sure enough they where. She wasn't looking where she was going, and tripped over an up risen root. She shrieked as she fell. She tried to get to her feet, but realized she had sprained her ankle.  
  
"Aw, man, not good." She groaned. She pushed herself backwards on the ground as the Tyranodrones closed in on her.   
  
"Leave me alone!" One reached down to grab her.   
  
"NO!" She screamed. Suddenly lasers hit the 'drones. Naomi ducked away, afraid she was going to get hurt.  
  
"What is it with you people, hurting innocent teenagers." Came a voice. Naomi looked up to see the blue, yellow and red rangers riding vehicles that looked like motorcycles. They went to her. The blue one hopped off his bike and went to her.   
  
"Are you all right?" He asked.  
  
"My ankle....I think I sprained it." She said. The other two began fighting the 'drones. Ethan helped Naomi to her feet. "I better get you to safety." He said. "You're not going anywhere." Elsa said as she swung at Ethan. Naomi shrieked. Ethan swung Naomi onto his left side, slightly dipping her, causing her to wrap her arms around his shoulders to hold on, as he kicked Elsa in the gut. Elsa doubled over but still went at him. Ethan brought Naomi back up and spun her away from him, still holding her hand as Elsa charged at them. He kicked Elsa again. He then swung Naomi to his right and delivered a double kick to Elsa in the chest, sending her sprawling on her back. "Dude, get her out of here, we'll hold off the drones." Connor yelled.  
  
"Got it." Ethan said. He scooped Naomi in his arms and ran back to his bike. He sat her down and got on in front of her. He revved up the bike. He turned his head to the side to speak to her.   
  
"I suggest you hold on, tightly." He said. Naomi nodded and wrapped her arms around his waist, pressing up against him. Ethan's head swam, but he quickly reminded himself that he had to get her to safety. he bike took off. Naomi held on to him as tight as she could. Ethan made the bike go in the air, going over the heads of some Tyranodrones. Naomi screamed. "Oh god!" She screamed. She buried her head in his back. "Just hold on!" Ethan said. The bike then rested on the ground again and he took off with her. After a while, Naomi felt the bike stop. She slowly lifted her head and saw that they were at her house. Ethan got off the bike that took her hand, helping her off. Naomi looked at him, he was still holding her hand. "How'd you know where I lived?" She asked. "Are you kidding?" He said.   
  
"Superhero's know everything." He said with a tone of laughter in his voice.   
  
"Are you going to be OK?" He asked, his tone serious.  
  
"Yeah....You better get back to your friends." She said. Ethan nodded and slowly let go of her hand. He made his way back to his bike.   
  
"Wait." Naomi said. He turned to look at her. "Sorry for hitting you yesterday, and thanks for saving me." She said. Ethan was glad he had the helmet on, a superhero blushing like a tomato wasn't a very brave guy thing to do. "No problem." He said. He got on the bike and left. Naomi watched him go.  
  
  
  
Conner managed to keep the drones away, while Kira took on Elsa.  
  
"Yellow ranger, give up." Elsa snarled as she tried to roundhouse kick Kira. Kira blocked the kick easily and responded with one of her own.  
  
"How bout you shut up and leave us alone!" Kira retorted. Elsa laughed and pushed her out of the way and blasted the drones and Conner. Kira watched in horror as he went down hard. She raised her leg and slammed it into Elsa's stomach, and sending her reeling backwards.  
  
"This isn't over!" Elsa screamed, before taking the drones and her away. Kira powered down and ran to Connor's side. He had powered down as well. He seemed like he was unconscious. "Connor, baby, oh god, wake up!" She said fretfully. "Baby?" He asked, quirking an eyebrow and smirking, his eyes still closed. Kira glared at him. She stood up.  
  
"Well now that we know you're perfectly fine." She spat kicking him in the side lightly. He groaned and rolled over. Smiling he pushed himself up. Kira continued to glare at him. He approached her, grinning like an idiot. Kira looked at him and as he went to grab her shoulders, she jumped out of the way and began to run through the forest. Just as he was about to go after her, Ethan roared in on his bike. "Everything OK?" He asked. Connor nodded. "Yeah, Naomi's all right?" He asked. Ethan nodded.  
  
"Just a sprained ankle. Where's Kira?" He asked. Connor simply grinned. Ethan rolled his eyes behind his helmet.   
  
"See ya." He said as he rode away. Connor took off running in the direction that Kira went. He soon caught up to her by the lake and grabbed her. Kira laughed, but the two soon lost their footing and fell in. Kira's head popped up a few seconds later, still laughing.  
  
"That was mean Conner!" She scolded. However, there was no response. She turned around and looked around the surface for him.  
  
"Conner? Ok this so isn't funny anymore!" She said, concern filling her voice. Then it dawned on her. 'Conner can't swim!' She dove under the water and opened her eyes. The water wasn't that deep, but she could see Conner struggling to get back to the surface. She resurfaced, took a breath and dove back under. Swimming as fast as she possibly could, she managed to get over to him and wrapped her arms under his and pulled him towards the surface. Connor coughed and sputtered as they reached the surface. "You OK?" She asked. "Yeah." He panted. Kira sidestroked over to the side of the lake, pulling him over so he could hold on to the land. She pulled herself out and helped him out. She looked at him.  
  
"OK, one of these days, I am so going to teach you how to swim." She sighed. Connor looked at her. "Sorry." He said. Kira shook her head dismissively. "It's OK." She said. Connor pulled her close, putting his arm around her shoulders. Kira rested her head on his arm. He smiled contently. The sun began to set in the distance and the couple watched peacefully in each other's embrace. 


	4. Late night calls

"So, are you OK?" Ethan asked. Naomi and he were sitting together at lunch, she had told him about her encounter with the rangers.  
  
"Yeah, I had to ice my ankle for a while, and it still hurts a bit, but I'm OK." She said.  
  
"Oh." Ethan said. "I'm glad the rangers got to you before those things could hurt you." He said, looking into her eyes. Naomi went on with the conversation.  
  
"Yeah. " She smiled, remembering how the Blue ranger saved her. "The blue ranger was like totally protective of me."  
  
"Well, Superhero's do protect the public." He said. Naomi bit her lip.  
  
"I guess......But I think we had a moment." Naomi confessed.  
  
"A moment?" Ethan asked.  
  
"Yeah, when he helped me off his motorcycle or whatever, I just......." She blinked. "Oh man, I'm sounding like some lovesick groupie, aren't I?" She said. Ethan smiled.  
  
"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone." He said. She smiled.  
  
"Thanks Ethan." She blushed. Ethan smiled.  
  
"Anytime Naomi." He replied. Conner could be seen making his way over and dropped his tray next to Ethan and sat down on the bench. He mumbled his salutation. Ethan looked at him.  
  
"Up late with your better half?" He joked. Conner glared at him. Naomi smiled.  
  
"Speaking of Mrs. McKnight, where is Kira?" She asked. Conner made a face.  
  
"She had a guidance appointment, and she wouldn't let me go with her." He pouted. Naomi and Ethan rolled their eyes.  
  
"Dear god, give each other room to breath." Naomi giggled.  
  
"I think breathing isn't their main concern when their lips are practically glued together." Ethan cracked. Conner glared at them both.  
  
"You two are just jealous." He said.  
  
"No we're not." They both said. Ethan and Naomi looked at each other and laughed.   
  
Kira sat in her counselor's office waiting for her to come back. Before Kira could look out the window to look at her friends, her counselor, Mrs. Hyde and Principal Randall were standing at the door.  
  
"Ah, Ms. Ford, we meet again." Randall growled. Kira said nothing. Randall smiled.  
  
"I'm not sure if Mrs. Hyde informed you yet." Randall started. Kira looked at her. Randall grinned evilly.  
  
"You've missed quite a few classes Ms. Ford, due to 'being sick.'" Randall used to hands to make quotations. Kira looked at her.  
  
"Those are actually legit excuses." She retorted. Randall shook her head.  
  
"Tut tut tut Ms. Ford....You're hereby suspended indefanility for truancy! You have an hour to get off school property, and you will be contacted by myself, or Mrs. Hyde when you may return to school!" Randall smirked, and left the room. Kira sat there speechless. Mrs. Hyde looked at her.  
  
"Kira honey, I'm sorry I couldn't tell you." She said sadly. Kira looked at her.  
  
"They were legit reasons Mrs. Hyde....she can't do this!" Kira whispered, fighting tears. Mrs. Hyde nodded.  
  
"Kira, listen to me. Get your things from your locker and get off the grounds. I can make sure that your friends get you your assignments, and I can make it so you have a live feed from all your classes to listen in on lectures." The elder women said. "I promise I'll work this out." She said. Kira was slowly loosing her battle.  
  
"Th..Thank you." She stuttered, trying to hold in her tears. She got up and went to her locker.  
  
"Hey there." Came a voice. Connor walked over to her. "I just came to look for you, our two single friends were getting on my last nerve." He touched her shoulder. "Everything ok?" He asked. Kira looked at him. Seeing his concerned expression was it, she choked out a sob as she slid to the ground by her locker. Connor's eyes widened and knelt beside her. "What is it?" He asked, taking her in his arms.  
  
"R...Randall......She suspended me!" She sobbed. Connor sighed, holding her closer, trying his best not to get angry with the principal. He kissed the top of her head. "I have an hour to get my stuff and get off school property." She said, trying to get to her feet. Connor helped her up and held her around the waist.  
  
"I'll take you home." He said. Kira shook her head.  
  
"No, I don't want you to get in trouble." She sniffled.  
  
"I don't care." He said. He gave her a quick chaste kiss. "I care about you, school be damned." He joked, trying to get her a smile. Kira smiled softly though her tears.  
  
"OK." She said. She took out her things. Connor took most of her books from her and put an arm around her, leading her out of school.  
  
  
  
Later that day, Naomi and Ethan walked into science class. Dr. Oliver saw that two students were missing. He went over to Ethan.  
  
"Where are Conner and Kira?" He asked. Ethan sighed.  
  
"Randall suspended Kira, and Connor took her home." He said. Dr.O looked at him, stunned.  
  
"Excuse me class." He managed to stumble out before going over to the phone and dialed the number to reach Randall's office. All he got was an answering machine. He growled.  
  
"Class dismissed!" He snarled. Since it was the last class of the day, students whooped and left the school. Ethan and Naomi walked together.  
  
"Wow, Dr. Oliver was piiiiised." She said, stressing the word. "Didn't think he'd get so emotional over a student getting suspended." Ethan looked at her.  
  
"Dr. O's a kind of teacher who becomes really connected to his students. He thinks of them like friends.....or family, whatever." Ethan said. Naomi nodded.  
  
"Man, that's a change from the ruling wielding nuns at my boarding school." She joked. Ethan chuckled.  
  
"Anything would beat that." he laughed. Naomi nodded.  
  
  
  
Dr. Oliver picked up the phone and punched in Conner's cell phone number. It rang and rang and rang some more till he finally picked up.  
  
"Conner! Where in the name of God are you?!" The teacher snarled.  
  
"I'm with Kira." Connor said, somewhat fearful of his teacher/mentor/fellow ranger's angry tone. He was usually serious, or jovial, he's even been authoritive before, but never angry. Dr. O sighed.  
  
"You do realize you're just fueling Randall's fire right, I'm sure she's going to come after you next. You want to get suspended?" He asked.  
  
"Look, Dr. O, I know it's bad of me to ditch, but you should've seen Kira, she was distraught. What kind of boyfriend...or friend even.....would I be if I left her alone in that state?" Connor replied, clearly annoyed. Dr. Oliver sighed. He could relate. He remembered when he himself when he was a teen and would do anything he could as long as Kimberly would never loose that smile on her face. If putties destroyed her float, he'd spend hours and hours rebuilding it for her. If her grandmother's spinning wheel was broken, he'd become Tommy the Tool man Oliver for her.  
  
"All right, sorry." He said. "Listen, I'm going to try to sort this out for Kira, all right?" He said. Conner nodded.  
  
"That'd be great....Kira wants to talk to you." Conner said before handing the phone over to Kira.  
  
"Dr.O?" She asked. Dr.O strained to hear her voice. It was quiet and timid...Something Kira was not.  
  
"Kira...how are you doing?" He asked. Kira broke out into a new batch of sobs. Dr. Oliver winced at the sound of her so upset.  
  
"Dr. O.....I....." She choked out. "Oh god, my parents are going to kill me." She cried.  
  
"Hey, hey." Dr. Oliver said, trying to sound comforting. "I'll figure this out, OK? Don't worry, I give you my word, I'll do my best to have you back in school as soon as possible." He said. He saw Randall stalking over to him, fire in her eyes. "I'm going to talk to her right now." He said, hanging up. Randall approached him.  
  
"Dr. Oliver, how dare you dismiss your students without permission from me?" She snarled. Dr. Oliver returned her glare.  
  
"How dare YOU suspend one of MY students for no good reason?" He countered. Randall smirked.  
  
"Excuse me? Need I remind you of your place? You're a teacher, I'm the principal." She said.  
  
"And you just love overusing your power by terrorizing innocent students?" He replied.  
  
"Ms. Ford was excessively absent." Randall said.  
  
"All absences were excused with notes from her parents and doctors." Dr. Oliver said. Randall narrowed her eyes.  
  
"I find it rather intriguing how you're fighting so hard for some random student." She said suspiciously.  
  
"I'd do the same for any student in this school." Dr. Oliver said. "You have absolutely no right to do this, and if you don't reinstate Kira, I'll be forced to take this up with the School Board." He said. She snorted and rolled her eyes.  
  
"You have no power with them Dr.Oliver."She growled. Tommy glared at her.  
  
"And you have no power over them either Principal Randall!"He yelled. Randall glared at him.  
  
"She gets a live feed from her classrooms, and she is still forbidden on school grounds unless she's handing in an assignment, or writing a test!" Randall screamed before leaving the room, and slamming the door.  
  
  
  
"So, you want to come over and play Galatic Gladiators?" Naomi asked Ethan. Ethan looked at her.  
  
"Sure." He said. They went to her house. They walked in. Naomi's mother was home.  
  
"Mimi." She said, why are you home so early?" She asked.  
  
"Mimi?" Ethan asked.  
  
"Shut it." Naomi said. She looked at her mom.  
  
"We were dismissed early." She said. "Ethan and I are going to play video games." She said. Her mother nodded. Ethan went to Naomi's room, Naomi following. Mrs. Carlton stopped her, gently grabbing her arm.  
  
"Leave your bedroom door open." She said. Naomi looked at her.  
  
"Mo-om....." She groaned.  
  
"Naomi." Her mother said.  
  
"Fine." She said.  
  
  
  
Kira cried herself to sleep after she got off the phone with Dr.Oliver. She lay curled up, beside Conner with her head resting gently on a pillow in his lap.Conner had long since gotten really bored, but didn't want to wake the sleeping Kira. She'd seemed so distraught and emotional, and that was completely unlike her, although he'd only known her less than 3 months. He gently removed the pillow from his lap and place it, as well as Kira's head onto the couch and tiptoed away from the living room and went upstairs. He opened the door to her room and looked around. He'd been in there the day before, but he and Kira had been too busy, making out to even see her room. he paleness of the yellow walls was somewhat dull, yet cheerful at the same time. She had posters of Evanescence, Three Days Grace, Avril Lavigne, The Goo Goo Dolls, Hoobstank, Reel Big Fish and The Darkness hanging all around her room. On her desk sat her laptop, incased in a caniary yellow case, with feathers. On the shelves above her laptop, sat photo's of her and Kyliee from when they were younger, and the a recent one. Beside the recent photo of her and Kyliee, was a picture of her and himself. He remembered the picture, Ethan had insisted on taking a picture of them shortly after they all become rangers, he said to always remember his new friends, even after their ranger days. She was sitting with her guitar on her lap. Her expression was bored, as if she'd rather be doing anything else instead of taking this picture, he looked relax as always. He ran his thumb over the picture and smiled. He continued to look around her room and found another photo. He picked it up. It seemed farily recent, but was covered in dust. The girl standing next to Kira was really short and had black hair with pink and blue streaks. She wore a 'three days grace' t- shirt and had sky blue eyes. He sat on Kira's bed.  
  
"She looks so familiar." He murmered.A voice from the doorway responded.  
  
"That's Emily....She Kyliee and I used to be best friends." She said, moving through the doorway and sitting next to him. Connor looked at her.  
  
"I thought you were sleeping." He said. Kira leaned her head against his shoulder.  
  
"I noticed you were gone." She said. "I was wondering where you disappeared to." He blushed.  
  
"I didn't get to see your room yesterday." He replied. Kira nodded and took the photo from him. She sighed.  
  
"What happened to her?" He asked. Kira smiled sadly.  
  
"After Kyliee got the record deal, she and I remained close....she lives just down the street." Kira trialed off.  
  
"What's wrong?" Conner asked. She sighed.  
  
"She's moving." Kira replied. Conner looked at her.  
  
"Where to?" He asked. Kira sighed again.  
  
"Hawaii." She said. "It's going to be weird, not having her here to talk to." She said. Connor held her close, rubbing her back comfortingly. He kissed her temple gently.  
  
"There's always e-mail, and the phone." He told her quietly. She pulled away slightly and looked at him.  
  
"That's different Conner! She's my best friend and been with me through everything! Talking over msn when something goes wrong isn't going to make everything better!" She cried. Connor winced, feeling bad that he had made her even more upset. He pulled her close and whispered soothing words to her.  
  
"I'm sorry, I'm a bone head, of course email and talking face to face is totally different. I guess I'm not that good when it comes to saying the right things." He sighed.  
  
  
  
Kimberly walked into her house with Trini.  
  
"Did you eat yet?" She asked. Trini shook her head.  
  
"Mrs. Hamilton cooking isn't that great." She said, making a face. "I told her I ate a lot at lunchtime." Kimberly laughed and ruffled her 7- year-old daughter's hair.  
  
"All right, well, I'll make some spagetti." She said. Trini smiled and hugged her mother.  
  
"Can I help?" She asked. Kimberly nodded.  
  
"Sure, I'm going to go change out of my work clothes, you get the sauce from the refrigerator." She said. Trini went to the kitchen as Kimberly walked to her room, kicking off her shoes and taking off her wool skirt and blouse, changing into a pair of black sweatpants and a pink tank top. She went to the kitchen, seeing Trini carefully carrying the sauce and putting it on the counter by the stove. Kimberly smiled. "Thank you, honey." She said. She pulled out a pot and began boiling water for the noodles.  
  
"Can I have some sodie?" Trini asked. "Please?" Kimberly turned away from the stove, letting the noodles boil.  
  
"OK." She said. Trini sat down at the dinner table as Kimberly got out a plate for herself and Trini, silverware, and cups. She pulled out a bottle of coke and poured Trini some soda. "Now, hold onto the cup with both hand, like I told you or you won't get soda for a week." She said, remembering the other nigh when Trini held a cup with one hand, trying to imitate her, and ended up dropping the cup.  
  
"Yes mommy." She said. The water finished boiling. She strained the noodles and microwaved some sauce, preparing Trini's plate. She set it down in front of her daughter and went to make her own plate when the phone rang. She set down her plate and went to pick it up.  
  
"Hello?" She asked.  
  
"Kimberly." Came a voice. Kimberly's heart stopped.  
  
"Tony." She said softly.  
  
"How are you?" He asked.  
  
"I'm fine. Listen, I've really got to-"  
  
"And how's Trini, our child?" He asked. Kimberly gripped the phone receiver.  
  
"How did you.....?"  
  
"Oh, come on, Kimberly, you really think it's hard to find people now a days? Can I speak to her?" He asked.  
  
"She's sleeping." Kimberly lied. Kimberly heard the cup drop at the table.  
  
"Sorry mommy, I'll clean it up." Trini said. Kimberly tried to cover the mouthpiece so her voice wouldn't be heard over the phone.  
  
"I guess she just woke up." Tony said. "Let me speak to her."  
  
"No." Kimberly growled. He scoffed.  
  
"Kimberly, I can make things very difficult for you and our child, do you want that?" He asked.  
  
"She's not your child. You gave up all right to call her yours after you abandoned me." She snarled.  
  
"Oh, must you live in the past?" He asked. "Now, do you want what happened to your dear friend Jason to happen to you?" He asked. Kimberly felt tears filling her eyes.  
  
"Leave us alone." She said, slamming the phone down. 


	5. Coma Ward and an Interview

Ethan stood outside of school the next day, about to go to lunch. He saw Naomi walking up with a camera around her neck, carrying her book bag and a camera bag. Ethan laughed a bit.  
  
"Nice fashion accessories you got there." He said. Naomi smiled and struck a pose for him.  
  
"You like?" She asked, giggling a bit.  
  
"Very nice. But seriously, what is all that?" He asked.  
  
"Well, the parentals oh so subtly 'suggested' I should do an extra curricular, so I chose school newspaper. You are looking at the newest photojournalist for the Reefside Observer."  
  
"Wow." Ethan said. "I didn't know you were into that kind of stuff." He said.  
  
"Well, I love all kinds of writing, and my mom's a free lance photographer. She taught me how to do it when I was a kid." She walked up to him and the two went to a table. "And I already have my first story idea." She said.  
  
"What's that?" He asked as they sat.  
  
"I'm going to interview Kira and write about how Randal was so out of line for what she did." Naomi said. Ethan raised his eyebrows.  
  
"You're going against Randal? Wow." He said, giving a surprised whistle. Naomi nodded.  
  
"I figured I might as well do something that's gonna have a massive impact, and might create some chatter and it might possibly bring Kira back to school." She replied. Ethan nodded.  
  
"But don't you think that it could get you kicked outta school?" he asked. Naomi shrugged.  
  
"If it happens, it happens, no skin off my back." She said as she placed her camera bag on the table.

()

Conner pulled up to school in his car and shut the engine off. It was going to be a long day. Even longer for Kira. Poor girl was stuck at home, nothing to do. Her parents were out of town for the week, so she was all alone. He'd stopped by before going to school, and he'd woken her up.  
  
"If looks could kill." He muttered climbing out of the car and grabbing his bag. He knew he'd most likely be getting a page to the main office today to see Randall to get suspended. 'But at least that means more time with Kira.' His mind began to wander. He was so caught up in his own world that he didn't see Trent in front of him, and Conner walked straight into Trent, plowing them both forward. Trent hit the ground first and Conner landed on top of him. Trent shoved Conner off him.  
  
"What the hell is your problem man?!" He shouted at the red ranger. Conner backed up.  
  
"Sorry man, geez, it was an accident!" Conner replied. Trent's eyes were ablaze.  
  
"I'll show you an accident!" He shouted, going to punch Connor, but a hand on his wrist stopped him.  
  
"What's going on here?" Dr. Oliver asked, pulling Trent back. Trent shook the teacher off and glared at Connor.  
  
"Nothing, Dr. O. Trent was just showing me his new mime routine, fighting against the wind." Connor said. Trent growled lowly and walked off. Dr. Oliver looked at Connor.  
  
"OK, what was really going on?" He asked. Connor sighed and picked up his fallen backpack.  
  
"We bumped into each other and then Trent got pissed. I think the whole me dating Kira thing doesn't exactly sit well with him." He said as the two began to walk out of the parking lot together.  
  
"How is she anyway?" Dr. Oliver asked. Connor made an indefinite hand gesture.  
  
"How do you think anyone in this situation would be?" He asked. "She's sad, angry, confused, you name it." He looked at him. "Did you talk to Randal?" He asked. It was now Tommy's turn to sigh.  
  
"More like we had a shouting match. But, I did put the fear of the school board in her, even if she acted like it didn't faze her, I could see I struck a nerve." Conner smiled.  
  
"Good to know. I think Kira might be happy if she can come back to school." Conner told his mentor, who nodded.  
  
"I don't blame her...It's gotta be very boring sitting at home." Dr. Oliver said. Connor laughed a bit.  
  
"I personally would spend the time catching up on some sleep and be happy about it." He said. Dr. Oliver rolled his eyes.  
  
"You would." He said. They passed by where Ethan and Naomi were sitting.  
  
"Guys!" Ethan called out. They walked over. Connor sat down.  
  
"Hey." He said.  
  
"Hey, how's Kira?" Naomi asked.  
  
"Waiting for this to be over." Connor sighed. Naomi smiled.  
  
"Well, it might be over sooner then she thinks." She said. At this, both newly arrived males stared at her.  
  
"Did you hear some news?" Dr. Oliver asked.  
  
"No, more like she's going to make some news." Ethan said.  
  
"Huh?" Connor asked. Naomi laughed and told them what she had just told Ethan a few minutes before. She looked at Connor.  
  
"Of course, I'd only do it with Kira's OK. I don't want to exploit her situation or anything." She said. Connor shrugged.  
  
"I really don't know what she'll say. I mean, I guess it can't hurt to ask." He said. "How about today after school, at Cyberspace? After a day at home, she's gonna need to see some friends and everything, and you can ask her then." He said. Naomi smiled and nodded. Dr. Oliver made an unsure face.  
  
"As admirable it is that you're so willing to help a friend, aren't you afraid you'll get expelled, or make things worse?" He asked. Naomi looked at him.  
  
"Wow, man, pep talks, not your strong suit." She joked. Dr. Oliver sighed.  
  
"It's just that I don't want to see this happening to any other students. But, if you feel this is what you have to do, all I can do is wish you luck." He said.  
  
"Thank you, Dr. Oliver." Naomi said politely.  
  
Dr.O smiled.  
  
"Not a problem Naomi." He replied.  
  
Randall sat in her office. She could clearly see Ethan, Naomi, Conner and Dr. Oliver talking, possibly plotting. She turned around in her chair and rocked back and forth.  
  
"I must do something....Perhaps by destroying a ranger...or two..." She thought. She smiled, remembering that their newest ally would have no problem with taking out the leader. She laughed to herself as she thought of the possibilities.  
  
()()()()()))))))))))))))((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((())))))))) ))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))  
  
Kimberly walked to the front desk of the hospital.  
  
"Good afternoon Dr. Hart." Greeted the triage nurse, Zoë.  
  
"Hey Zoë." She responded with a smile. "Any news?" She asked. Zoë looked at her sympathetically. "Dr. Lewis says we might have to move him to the neurological facility in Reefside general." She said. Kimberly felt a pang in her heart. Reefside...That's where Tommy was.  
  
"I see." She said. "No change then?" She asked. Zoë shook her head.  
  
"I'm sorry. But Dr. Lewis says that he seems to be responding well to the visits." She suggested. Kimberly smiled.  
  
"You and I both know he said no such thing. But thanks." She said. "I'll go pay him a visit right now." She said as she took off to a hospital room in the coma ward.  
  
She walked in to see him lying there with machines and tubes attached to him. She slowly walked over and sat on the chair beside his bed, taking her hand in hers. Even though it's been a year since the accident, seeing him like this brought tears to her eyes.  
  
"Hey, Jase." She whispered.  
  
()))))))))))()()((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((())))) )))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))  
  
"Do you think it'll work?" Kira asked.  
  
"It couldn't hurt." Ethan answered. "I mean the school needs to know that Randal's totally power tripping." He said.  
  
"Yeah. And besides, all school publications do circulate to the PTA and the school board, so everyone will know." Naomi said.  
  
"I guess, but I just don't want you getting in trouble because of me." Kira said. Connor put an arm around her. Naomi sighed.  
  
"Will you guys quit worrying about me?" She said. "Look, if Randal tries to come after me because of this, she'll have even more trouble. I mean, trying to expel a student for excursing their freedom of speech? Besides, what kind of reporter would I be if I didn't take some risks?" Kira nodded slightly.  
  
"Well, if you're sure...." She trailed off. Naomi nodded.  
  
"I'm positive." She replied. Kira nodded.  
  
"Alright then." She replied. Naomi's face broke out into a big grin.  
  
"Great." She said. She pulled up her camera. "Is it all right if I take some pictures of you for the story?" She asked. Kira nodded. "Great. Let's go outside though, like the park, the light's much better there." She said as she stood up. Kira followed. Connor looked at her.  
  
"You want us to come along?" He asked. Kira shook her head.  
  
"No, it's OK." She said. "We'll be back in a little while." She said as she leaned down and kissed him lightly. She then left with Naomi.


	6. Memories

Kira and Naomi headed for the park to take photos so that Naomi could begin writing her story. As they came to the lake, they sat on a bench and Naomi turned to Kira.  
  
"So Kira, tell me your side of the story." Naomi said, pulling out her notepad. Kira nodded.  
  
"Ok.... I've been sick a lot recently, like flu and colds and such, so my parents took me to the doctor's to have me checked out, and he wrote a letter saying I was to be excused from classes until I was better." Kira said. Naomi nodded.  
  
"Anything else?" She asked. Kira shook her head.  
  
"Not really, Randall knew about my absences." She said. Naomi wrote down as she spoke.  
  
"Is there any reason that you can think of that Randall would ignore those notes?" She asked. Kira sighed.  
  
"I don't know." Kira said. "Mega power trip, maybe." Naomi nodded and wrote it down. She looked at Naomi. "Why are you doing this?" She asked. Naomi looked up.  
  
"Well, we're friends." She said. "It was so wrong of Randall to do that to you. And besides, when I see some sort of injustice going on, I just can't sit back and take it." She smiled. Kira smiled.  
  
"Thanks." She said. "You don't know how much this means to me." She said. Naomi gave her a warm smile.  
  
"I'm sure if the situation where reversed, you'd do the same for me." She said. Kira laughed.  
  
"Right, I'd write a wicked protest anthem." She said. Naomi laughed.  
  
()()()()()  
  
Dana Mitchell-Greyson waddled into the living room, trying to rush to the phone, which was a difficult thing to do, seeing as she had the extra weight of her five month pregnancy. Five months wasn't such a big deal, but since Dana was normally such a small-framed girl, she began showing at three months, so at five she wasn't huge, but big enough to cause slight discomfort. She finally reached the phone and answered it.  
  
"Hello?" She asked.  
  
"Hey, it's me, Kim." Came the voice of Dana's friend, Kimberly Hart. She and Kim met in medical school. They were paired together as lab partners and started hanging out, and were surprised to find out that the other was a former power ranger....and found it quite hilarious when they found out they were both pink rangers.  
  
"Hey." Dana said, smiling. "What's up?" She asked.  
  
"Listen, how much power to you have over at Reefside general?" Kimberly asked. Dana lifted the phone and went over to sit on the couch, resting her feet on the coffee table.  
  
"What do you want?" Dana asked with a slight laugh. Kimberly sighed.  
  
"Jason's being transferred to the Neurology center at Reefside, and I was wondering if you could pull some strings and help me get a transfer there?" She asked. Dana sighed.  
  
"I don't know Kim. I mean, there's a lot of great doctors here..He'll get taken care of, you don't need to worry." She said.  
  
"Dana, I just.....He's been my best friend since we were in diapers, and....I can't help feel responsible for what happened." She said. Dana took a deep breath.  
  
"Kimberly, it was an accident. I mean...Jason shouldn't have been rock climbing by himself." She said softly.  
  
"Dana, the rope was clearly cut..And who else besides Tony had a problem with Jason? I mean, Tony threatened him when Jason wouldn't give him my number so he could reach me. Don't you find that all just too coincidental?" Kimberly said. Dana sighed.  
  
"Kimberly, I'm too big and tired to argue." She said. "I'll call in some favours and see if you can get transferred here, ok?" She asked.  
  
"Thanks." Kimberly said. "You don't know how much-"  
  
"You owe me." Dana cut in with a laugh. "We'll work out a payment plan when you get here." She said. Kimberly giggled.  
  
"Well, listen, I better go, Trini's getting out of school now, and I want to go pick her up." She said. Dana and Kimberly said their goodbyes and hung up.  
  
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Kira looked across at Naomi.  
  
"So is that it, or do you need more?" Kira questioned, hoping to leave so she could get some rest before school tomorrow. Naomi looked at her.  
  
"That should be it; I can always give you a call if there's more." She replied. Kira nodded and stood.  
  
"Thanks again Naomi." She said, waving as she walked away. Naomi just nodded.  
  
Somewhere on a deserted island, Elsa sat twiddling her thumbs thoughtfully, something new for her. She looked around and saw the Yellow Ranger walking by herself. Elsa smiled.  
  
"White Ranger come here." She snarled. The White Ranger appeared.  
  
"Yes?" He asked, annoyed that it was Elsa who'd called. She pointed at the screen.  
  
"Think of a sinister plan to get rid of her, and her pesky boyfriend!" She shrieked before leaving the room. The white ranger watched as Kira left the park. He had no intention of harming her............But Connor on the other hand..........  
  
Naomi walked back into Cyberspace. She saw Ethan and Connor sitting where she and Kira had left them. She walked over.  
  
"Hey." She said.  
  
"Hey, where's Kira?" Connor asked.  
  
"I don't know. I thought she would've come back here. Guess she went home." Naomi replied. Connor stood up.  
  
"I'm going to go check on her." He said as he left. Naomi watched him leave. She sat down across from Ethan.  
  
"Man, that guy is strung." Ethan commented on his retreating friend. Naomi laughed softly.  
  
"I don't know, I think it's sweet." She said. "I know I'd feel pretty good if someone felt like that about me." She said. Ethan looked at her.  
  
'If you only knew, Naomi.' He thought. 'If you only knew.'  
  
Kira unlocked the door to her house and went inside. The interview had gone well, and she couldn't wait for the school board and PTA to read it so that she'd be sent back to school. She dropped the paper and mail on the kitchen counter and sifted through it.  
  
"Junk, junk, more useless piles of crap and junk, oh! A letter for me." She grabbed the letter and opened it.  
  
"Dear Ms Ford,  
  
We are contacting you as we need you to testify against Harold Verntab, so that he might be detained longer and not receive parole. We request that you be present in Angel Grove, California, on March 11, 2004. Thank you, California Parole Board." Kira yelped as she finished the letter and tossed it onto the table. She didn't want to relive that, nor did she want to testify. She grabbed an apple juice from the fridge and padded into the living room and sat on the couch. Although she didn't want to relive what had happened, it was inevitable.  
  
Kira's Memories  
  
16-year-old Kira lay on her boyfriend, Harold Verntab's bed staring at the ceiling. She had decided that she no longer wanted to date him. He was 22, and she was only 16. He wanted to take her to huge college parties to get completely wasted, while she wanted to take him to a local high school hangout so he could watch her perform. Neither of them agreed on much anymore. Harold came into the bedroom and jumped onto the bed and kissed Kira.  
  
"Hey beautiful." He murmured. Kira smiled. He always used cute pet names around her. She sat up and looked at him.  
  
"We need to talk." She said. He looked at her and nodded.  
  
"I...I don't think we should be together anymore." She managed to get out. Harold looked at her.  
  
"Pardon me?" He asked, his voice filled with danger and icy coldness. Kira looked at him.  
  
"You heard me." She repeated. Harold grabbed her arm and pulled her towards him. He shoved his face in hers.  
  
"If I can't have you, nobody will." He growled. He forced Kira to the bed and sat down on top of her and started kissing at her neck, while trying to get her pants off. Kira knew what was happening. She'd taken Karate since she was 6, she just needed to wait for the opportune moment to push him off her. Kira saw her moment when he pushed himself up to remove her of her pants. Kira shot up and slammed her fist into his nose and shoved him sideways off the bed. She rolled off the other side and made a dash for the door. She flung the bedroom door open and sped towards the apartment door. Harold picked himself up and grabbed a knife sitting on his dresser. Kira fumbled with the lock and just as she went to open the door, she felt something sharp slam into her stomach.  
  
Present time  
  
Kira's hand went under her shirt, she felt the scar that Harold had left. She remembered feeling as if her life was slipping away, slowly. Everything was a blur. She remembered rain falling on her face as paramedics wheeled her into the ambulance and police took Harold away. She then remembered waking up in a hospital room, her parents talking to a doctor over her.  
  
Memory  
  
"Is she going to be all right?" Mrs. Ford asked.  
  
"Yes." The doctor replied. "She might have permanent scaring from her ordeal, but other then that, she'll be fine." He said.  
  
"Mom?" Kira asked hoarsely. Her parents turned to her and went to her.  
  
"Oh, sweetie." Her father said as he kissed her forehead. "We were so worried. You lost a lot of blood, the doctors weren't sure you'd make it, but you're going to be ok, you're going to be ok baby." He said. Kira's eyes slightly shut. She wasn't sure she'd ever be "OK." Not ever. Tears filled her eyes.  
  
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you about...." She said, choking back a sob. Her mother smoothed her hair out of her face.  
  
"Shhh, don't worry about it honey." Kira nodded and her eyes closed again and she drifted to sleep.  
  
Kira shuddered and shook her head. She finished her apple juice and stood. She needed a nap, maybe Conner would come over later, and they'd have a nice night in. 


	7. Glittering teardrop

"So, you think you got enough stuff to write your story for the paper?" Ethan asked Naomi. They were sitting in Cyberspace together. Naomi took a sip from her vanilla strawberry smoothie.

"I think so." She said after she swallowed. "And I got a good picture of Kira. I'm thinking this could be a good by-line story, if not a headline. I mean, an administrator singling out a student like that? I know it's going to rub the school board the wrong way." Ethan looked at her, smiling softly. Naomi looked at him. "What?" She asked. Ethan blinked.

"What what?" He asked.

"You're staring at me with this weird look on your face." She pointed out.

"I was? I guess I was just spacing out." Ethan said, trying to cover the real reason he was staring at her.

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Conner drove through the streets of downtown Reefside, looking for a place to stop and get some food for Kira. He managed to wrangle a parking spot at the local grocery store and he parked his Mustang and went inside. He picked up some ramen noodles. He knew Kira liked them. He grabbed a few packets and a few "Cup-a-Noodles" then went to the flower aisle for some yellow carnations. Smiling gently he went over and grabbed a dozen of them and paid for his purchases, and quickly left the store. He climbed back into the car and headed over to Kira's house. He parked the car and went to Kira's door, knocking on the door.

Kira got up and opened the door. She came face to face with a bouquet of flowers. She jumped back.

"Uh, hi." She said, unsure who it was. The flowers moved to the side to reveal Connor's smiling face. Kira smiled, glad it was him. He held up a shopping bag.

"I picked up some Ramen." He said. Kira grinned.

"You are a saint." She said. He handed her the flowers as Kira stepped aside to let him in, closing the door behind him. Kira sniffed the flowers, smiling.

"They're beautiful." She said. Connor gently grabbed her waist and pulled her close, planting a kiss on her lips.

"You're beautiful." He whispered against her lips. Kira blushed three shades of red and lightly pushed him away.  
  
"Stop." She blushed as she walked into the kitchen. Conner smiled.  
  
"Why stop? Its true." He replied. Kira threw a dishtowel at him.  
  
"You lie." She laughed. She turned to fill a vase with water. Connor went up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, leaning into the crook of her neck.

"You are." He whispered against her neck. Kira shivered at how could his breath felt on her skin. "I plan on kissing you until you're convinced." He grinned. Kira leaned into him.

"If you insist." She smiled, turning around and letting Connor engulf her in a passionate kiss. Kira was pressed against the counter, but she didn't seem to mind, too consume by Connor's kisses. Connor's hand reached up her shirt. Kira began to feel a little uneasy.

"Wait..." She whispered. Connor didn't hear her. His fingers brushed up against her scar. "STOP!" Kira yelled, she accidentally yelled her ptera-scream. Connor fell back on the floor. Kira stood against the counter, panting. Conner pushed himself into a sitting position and looked at Kira.  
  
"What's wrong?" He asked, concern filling his voice. Kira looked at him.  
  
"N.. nothing." She replied and quickly turned back towards the sink. Conner pushed himself up off the ground and went over to Kira and touched her lightly on the back and she jumped away, fear filling her eyes.  
  
"Don't touch me!" She cried. Conner looked at her.  
  
"Kira. It's me....What's wrong?" He asked.

"Please, just don't..." Kira whimpered.

"Don't what?" He asked. "Kira, talk to me." He begged. Kira's legs gave out and she fell. Connor quickly grabbed her before she hit the ground. He led her to the couch in the living room and sat her down. He sat down next to her.

"I...........I'm sorry." She whispered, tears falling down her cheeks.

"It's OK." He said. "You want to talk about it?" He asked. Kira looked away.

"You...........You'd never hurt me, right?" She asked, her voice holding an edge of desperation. Connor looked confused.

"Of course not." He said. "I'd never even think about it." He said. Kira looked at him.

"And if I ever wanted to ended things....You still wouldn't?" She asked. Connor's face paled.

"You want to end things?" He asked. Kira shook her head.

"No...No...I just..." She trailed off. Connor looked down.

"Is it the flowers? I mean...Yeah, you hate carnations, is that it? Did I get the wrong flavours of Ramen?"

"I don't want to end things." Kira said. Connor seemed to give out a breath of relief.

"Oh."

"But, if I did, would you?" She asked. Connor stared at her.

"No. Never. The thought of ever hurting you makes me sick." He said. Kira looked at him.

"Really?" She asked.

"Of course. I mean, I'd never hurt you. And if you wanted to end things, sure, I'd be hurt and sad, but not enough to hurt you. Who'd ever do things like that?" He asked. Kira looked down.

"My ex." She said. Connor looked at her, a little shocked.

"What?" He asked. Kira turned to him and took a deep breath. She slowly lifted her shirt to show him her scar. Connor stared at it. He reached out and ran his finger over it.

"What...happened?" He asked, his voice filled with fear. Kira took a deep breath.  
  
"It was a couple years back, I was dating this guy named Harold, Harry for short.... He was 22... One night I decided that I wanted to end things....and..." She trailed off and looked down. Conner reached over and placed his hand over hers and squeezed. "He tried to rape me.." She forced out. "And then I got away and tried to get out....but....He stabbed me." Connor's heart nearly stopped. How could anyone try and hurt Kira? "He's coming up for parole....He would've gotten a harder sentence with more years and no parole, but I couldn't bring myself to testify, so the defence attorney was able to convince the jury it was an accident." Kira laughed bitterly. "Accident my ass." She said.

"Kira.." Connor began. "I'm so sorry." He whispered. Kira let her shirt fall back in place. Connor held his arms out and Kira got close to him, letting him envelop her in his arms. "The parole board sent me a letter saying they want me to testify I against his parole...But I can't do it. But I know that if I don't, he'll be let out...He could come after me or something." She sobbed against his chest. Connor rubbed her back.

"I wouldn't let him come near you." Connor swore. Kira knew she could probably protect herself, especially know with her powers, but hearing how Connor wanted to protect her comforted her. She wasn't usually the type of girl who'd let herself be protected, but Connor was different. He really cared about her and wanted to protect her.

"Thanks." She sat up and wiped at her cheeks. "But, I know I have to get through this. If I don't face him, he'll haunt me forever. And I refuse to give him that power. I should testify." She said. Connor reached over and swept some hair off her face.

"If you want, I can go with you, moral support, you know?" He said. Kira smiled.

"I'd like that." She said. She sniffed and wiped her cheeks again. She looked at Connor.

"I should probably go wash my face, I must look like hell." She said. Connor smiled.

"Not possible." He said. Kira laughed.

"Anyway, why don't you heat up that ramen while I do?" She said. Connor nodded. Kira stood up. Connor got up and kissed her gently.

"I just want you to know, I'd never, ever, ever, ever do what Harold did." He said. Kira smiled and hugged him.

"I know." She said. She went to go upstairs to the bathroom.

"Oh, what flavour ramen do you want?" He asked. Kira thought for a second.

"Surprise me." She said over her shoulder.

"I love you." He blurted out. Kira stopped and turned to face him slowly.

"What?" She asked.

"Uh...I love you....." He repeated. "You did say surprise you...." He grinned sheepishly.

"Are you serious?" She asked. Connor's face became serious.

"Yeah." He said. Kira's eyes rolled back as she fainted.

"Kira!" Connor ran to her side. He slapped her cheek gently.

"Mmmm." She groaned as her eyes opened. Connor helped her sit up.

"Are you OK?" He asked. Kira nodded. "You want some water?" He asked.

"I'm fine." She said. "Maybe it's cause I haven't eaten a lot today." She laughed softly. "I could've sworn I thought I heard you say you loved me. Pretty crazy, huh?" She said. Connor looked down. Perhaps Kira wasn't ready to hear that.

"Yeah, pretty crazy." He said softly. Kira looked at him. She had heard him and she did remember, but she just wasn't ready for that yet, especially with Harold still haunting her memories, so she figured this was the best way to avoid that, for now. "So, how about that Ramen?" He said, helping her to her feet.

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Later that night, Naomi sat at her computer, working on her article. She had just finished it and was just reading it over.

"............In closing," she read. "Kira Ford was personally attacked by our Principal Randall. Can you honestly say this is right? I hope you all share my opinion that we should fight for our friend and classmate, Kira." She smiled to herself. "Pulitzer, here I come." She joked. She printed it out and stretched. Little did she know, a secret admirer was currently watching her.

Ethan sat in a tree outside Naomi's window. He held a small gift-wrapped package, it was a gift for her. He carefully placed it on her windowsill and climbed down. Once he reached the ground. He grabbed a small pebble and threw it at her window. He heard her computer chair scraping against the floor, signalling she was getting up and took it as his cue to leave. He ran off her lawn to remain unseen.

Naomi heard the pebble on her window and had gotten up to see what was going on. She went to her window and opened it. No one was outside, but she saw a package. She pulled it in her room and carefully tore off the wrapping paper. She pulled out a box. She turned it over and gasped. It was a computer game and a small velvet box. Not just any computer game...it was "Space Police 3." She had wanted to get it for days, but didn't have the money, and knew her parents wouldn't give her money for another computer game. Her hand came across an envelope. She placed the box on her desk and opened the envelope. Inside it, there was a card with a blue floral design on it. She opened the card.

-Saw it in the store, thought of you. Hope you like it.

Love,

Your friendly Neighbour Hood...........Power Ranger (were you expecting 'Spiderman?)

Blue.

P.S. The necklace represents what would be in my eyes if anything ever happened to you.-

Naomi couldn't help laugh, partly from the joke, and partly out of being so shocked by getting something from him. She then looked at the box in her hand and slowly opened it, and gasped. Inside was a medium sized pendant on black velvet string. The pendent was a sparkly blue teardrop that glittered in the light. She was surprised he actually thought about her, even to the extreme that he implied he'd cry if something happened to her. She squealed with glee and fell on her bed with excitement.

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Dr. Thomas Oliver sat in the living room in his house, grading papers for his science class. It was getting to the point where the papers were almost all the same, minus the few spelling errors. He leaned back in his chair and rubbed his eyes. He turned at looked at the clock. 9:30. Tommy stood and headed towards the kitchen and opened the fridge. He noticed a few beers sitting on one of the shelves in the fridge, and a bag of pretzels on the counter top. He reached in and grabbed the bottle by the neck and was pulling it out as the phone started to ring. Mentally cursing himself, he shoved the beer back into the fridge and slammed the door shut and grabbed the portable phone.  
  
"Hello?" He asked. A slight chuckle came through the other end.  
  
"Now, is that anyway to treat an old friend?" Came the reply. A grin came to Tommy's face.  
  
"Zack man!" He laughed. "What's up?"

"Not much. You?"

"Pretty good. How's the show going?"

"Great. Actually, that's why I'm calling. We're coming to Reefside, you interested in coming if I'm able to get you a ticket?" He asked.

"Of course." Tommy smiled. "Sounds great." He said. "Who else would be going?" He asked. Zack paused.

"Oh, just some friends from college and such." He fibbed. Tommy didn't pick up on the life.

"Sounds good." He said. "Just tell me when's good and I'll be there." He said.

"Great. I'll call you in a few days. See ya."

"Bye." Tommy went to hang up.

"Oh, and Tommy," Zack said.

"Uh huh?" Tommy asked.

"Great job in channelling the mentality of Billy." He chuckled. Tommy laughed.

"Why thank you." Tommy said. "I've got to wake up for class tomorrow, I'll talk to you later." He said.

"Yeah." Zack said. "Bye." They hung up.

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"Are you sure you want to have this printed?" Beverly, the editor of the newspaper said, looking over the article the next day. She peered up at her. "Randall's not gonna like it."

"Hey, what can I say, I like to stir up a bit of controversy for my first article." Naomi smiled. Beverly sighed.

"OK." She said. "I'll print it." She put the article down. "I have a feeling we'll get more copies circulating this time." She said. "Thanks." Naomi smiled wider.

"No problemo. Only problem is, if it turns out that good, how ever will I top it for my next article?" She joked. Beverly laughed.

"Get out of here already." She said, throwing a balled up piece of scrap paper at her. Naomi laughed and ducked. Naomi went to leave. "Hey, Naomi?" She said.

"Uh huh?" She asked.

"Cute necklace, where'd you get it?" She asked. Naomi smiled, blushing lightly.

"It was a gift."

"A gift, or a giiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiift?" She said, stretching out the word.

"And the difference would be?" Naomi asked.

"One's a gift from parents, grandparents, etc, and the second one is from a guy." Naomi smiled.

"The second one." Naomi smirked, walking out. Beverly's mouth hung open.

"Only been here for a few weeks, and already has a guy.......Ugh, some people have all the luck!"

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"Ethan!" Naomi called out. He was sitting on the front lawn of the school, tinkering with his laptop. Naomi ran over to him. "Oh my god, you're not going to believe this." She said, sitting beside him.

"Bev liked your article?" He asked. He caught sight of the necklace laying on top of her shirt. **She's wearing it. She's wearing it! Yes!** He thought.

"Oh yeah, she did...But.." She said, displaying the pendant. "Guess who gave this to me." She said, excitedly. Ethan pretended to be stumped.

"Your mom and dad?" He asked. Naomi shook her head.

"Blue." She said. Ethan mentally smirked. She gave me a nickname? He thought.

"Who?" He laughed.

"Blue ranger." She whispered. Ethan pretended to be shocked.

"Are you sure?" He asked. Naomi handed him the card. She saved the card? AWESOME! Ethan thought. He opened the card and read it.

"Wow." He said. "It looks like you've got a super hero stalker." He joked. Naomi snatched the card from him.

"He's not a stalker. He's sweet." Naomi said. She thinks I'm sweet..........or well..........that 'Blue's' sweet.............YES! Ethan thought.

"So, what, is he your boyfriend?" Ethan teased. Naomi laughed.

"He's a super hero, I doubt he wants to date a plain ordinary girl like me." Naomi said. HE DOES! HE DOES! Ethan's mind screamed. Naomi smiled to herself, leaning back. "Maybe, if I see him again, I can ask to get an interview." She thought aloud. "You know, for my next article. I'm sure it can be as good as my Kira article." She said.

"Interview? Aren't they supposed to be like........Unknown?" Ethan asked.

"Well, I wouldn't ask who he is..." Naomi said. "At least, not for the article." She added. "Just, you know, 'what made you decide to become a ranger?' 'How is it fighting all these weird creatures?' 'Boxers or briefs?'" She said. Ethan stared at her.

"You're joking about the last one, right?" He asked.

"Maybe, maybe not." She teased. Ethan blushed. Please, don't ask that. He thought to himself.


	8. Late night ride

Kira was sitting in her room. Her parents were at work and Connor was still at school. She was utterly bored. Suddenly the phone rang. She picked it up.

"Hello?"

"Hey." Came Connor's voice. Kira smiled.

"Hey. What's up?" She asked. She knew it was lunchtime. Connor must've been using his cell phone.

"Nothing really. Actually, someone wants to talk to you." He said. Kira waited while she heard Connor passing the phone to someone.

"Hey." Came Naomi's voice.

"Hey. What's up?" Kira asked.

"I just wanted to tell you I gave my article in today."

"You finished it in one night?" Kira asked, surprised. Naomi laughed.

"What can I say, I had some mega motivation." Naomi said. Kira smiled. Naomi was being such a great friend. She wished there was a way she could repay Naomi's kindness. "Anyway, Connor has this look on his face that says he's going to rip this phone out of my hand if he doesn't get to talk to you." Naomi joked. Kira laughed as she heard Connor sound insulted in the background. "I'll give you back to him. See ya."

"OK. Thanks again, for the article. It really means a lot to me."

"No problemo." She said. Naomi handed the phone back to Connor.

"Hey." He said. Kira smiled.

"Were you really going to rip the phone out of Naomi's hand?" She asked innocently. Connor laughed. She heard him say something to Naomi, and she figured Ethan as well, then he got quiet. "Connor, you there?" She asked.

"Yeah, sorry. Naomi and Ethan left to go to class."

"Don't you have class, mister?" Kira chastised.

"It wouldn't hurt if I'm a little late." He said. She could hear the smile on his face through his voice. Kira laughed.

"Anyway, so were you really going to tear the phone away from Naomi?" Kira teased.

"I have a feeling Ethan would've pounded me if I tried." He said.

"What's that mean?" She asked.

"Don't tell me you haven't picked up on it, Ethan's totally crushing on Naomi." Connor said. Kira lay back in her bed, getting comfortable.

"I guess I did. But I just thought it was me misinterpreting Ethan just being friendly to a new girl who happens to share his interests."

"Trust me, I know the signs of total crushing." Connor said. Kira picked up on that tone, the tone saying he was in Ethan's position. Kira couldn't help smiling as she twirled the cord of the telephone in her fingers.

"And how do you know this, Mr. McKnight?" She asked.

"I just know, Ms. Ford." He replied. Connor sighed. "I actually really should get to class." Connor said regrettably. "Dr. Oliver wouldn't particularly like it if I cut his class." Kira nodded, understanding, then realized she was on the phone with Connor and felt somewhat silly. She gave an understanding "uh huh" instead.

"Tell him I said hi." Kira said.

"Will do. So, do you want me to come over tonight?" He asked. Kira's smile faded. Talking to Connor was fine, but she wasn't sure if she was ready to face him after yesterday quite yet.

"Uh, I'm supposed to be going out to dinner tonight with my parents. Sorry." She said.

"Oh, that's ok." Connor said. "I understand. Call me later, OK?" He asked.

"Uh huh." Kira said. They both hung up. Kira rolled off her bed and stood, looking into the mirror. Kira ran her hands through her hair and sighed. She couldn't do this forever; she would have to face him sometime. Whether as her boyfriend, or as Ethan put it once long ago 'partner in crime-fighting'. But what he said the day before freaked her out. She knew Connor would never hurt her, but Harold used to tell her how he loved her all the time..........And look how that ended up. She just associated that with those words, which was why when Connor said it, she fainted. Visions of Harold hurting her rushed to her head, but instead of Harold, it was Connor. Which was stupid, right? Connor wasn't anything like Harold. He was different. He was sweet and pure. Something that Harold never was, or ever would be. She smiled softly. At least she had him. Of course, she wouldn't for long if she avoided him. She sighed. Being afraid and paranoid was pointless. Connor cared about her, and she cared about him, that was all that mattered. She picked up the phone and dialled his cell phone. He must've shut if off for class because it went straight to the voicemail. "Hey, Connor, it's me. Uh, listen," she paused, coming up with a lie. She laughed. "I am such a ditz. My parents and I are having dinner next week, not tonight. So, uh, I'm actually free, if you still want to come over. Call me when you get out of class. Love you." She said and hung up, only to freeze. "Oh my god.........did I just say...........No..........Oh crap......." She whimpered as she fell backwards onto her bed. She hadn't meant to say that. It just came out. Now she felt awful. Connor was going to think that she did.......When she wasn't even sure she was...........Or if she could ever be in love with anyone for that matter. She was now faced with three choices-Tell Connor the truth that she did catch what he said the night before, tell him it just slipped out, or say nothing at all and pray he didn't think about it. She doubted option three would be available though.

It was the end of the day and Ethan was walking Naomi to her locker.

"You want to get together and work on the science assignment at Cyberspace?" He asked as they reached her locker and Naomi began to twirl in her combination.

"Sounds good." Naomi said. She opened the locker and saw an envelope fall out.

"What's that?" Ethan asked, although he knew what it was.

"No clue." Naomi bent down to pick it up. She opened the envelope and gasped, seeing a card almost identical to the one she received the night before.

"What?" Ethan asked.

"I think it's a message from Blue." Naomi said excitedly. She quickly opened the card and read it. "Oh my god!"

"What?" Ethan asked.

"We wants to see me, tonight." Naomi gasped. She looked at Ethan. "Uh, rain check on cybercaf, I need to find something to wear." Naomi said. "You don't mind, right?"

"Nah, go ahead." Ethan said. Naomi gave an excited squeal and hugged Ethan before running out of school. Ethan smiled.

"See you tonight." He muttered to himself.

Kimberly was taking her break from making her rounds and eating lunch in the hospital cafeteria. She was about to put a forkful of her salad when Dr. Lewis, the head of the hospital approached her.

"Dr. Hart." He said. Kimberly put down her fork. "I see you've put in for a transfer to the hospital in Reefside."

"Yes." She said. "Is that a problem?" She asked politely.

"Not at all." He said. He sat across from her. "I just received a phone call from Dr. Aquino, head of Reefside General. It seems one of their doctors, a Dr. Dana Mitchell has just taken her maternity leave, and so they are a bit short handed. You're expected at Reefside on Monday. Have fun." He said as he walked away. Kimberly smiled, making a mental note to thank Dana profusely. She knew Dana didn't want to take her maternity leave until absolutely necessary. She said that it made her feel like an invalid or something. It meant a lot to Kimberly that she would to this for her.

Later that night, Naomi walked by the lake in the woods. She had changed into blue jeans, a black tank top with a blue crocheted poncho. She had put on some makeup and perfume as well. She wrung her fingers nervously.

"OK, Naomi, there's no need to be nervous, he's just a guy........Who happens to be a super hero.........A really sweet superhero who gave you a video game and a necklace......A necklace which you haven't taken off since you got it....And saved the card for............But there's no reason to be nervous...nope...No reason at all...........Oh who am I kidding........I can't do this..." She turned to leave, only to nearly bump into the object of her nervousness, the Blue Ranger. She gasped.

"Sorry." He said. "Didn't mean to scare you." He said. Naomi chuckled nervously.

"Me? Scared? No...Course not." She said. He smiled.

"You weren't leaving, were you?" He asked.

"You always listen in on people's conversations with themselves?" She asked.

"Touché." He replied. "And no, I don't. At least, I don't listen to everyone's conversations with themselves," he got a little closer, "only certain people." He added. Naomi's jaw fell open a bit before she lowered her head a bit to hide her blush.

"Cut that out, will ya?" She asked. The Blue Ranger laughed a bit.

"As you wish." He said. "So," he said as he sat on his cycle which was parked next to a nearby tree. "How'd you like the gifts?" He asked. Naomi smiled.

"Oh, no, I hated them." She said sarcastically.

"Oh." The ranger said. He held his chin in his hand as if he was deep in thought. "Well, what shall I do?" He asked no one in particular. He stood up, and if it were possible, a light bulb would've lit up over his head. "I know." He said. He patted the seat of his cycle. "Hop on."

"What?" She asked, somewhat shocked.

"Aw, come on, we can have a little joyride." He coaxed. Naomi shook her head.

"I don't think so." She said.

"What? It's not like you've never ridden this before." He said. Naomi stared at him incredulously.

"Yeah, I rode one time, while you were saving me from those outer-space looking freaks and their leader, Madam Morticia Adams wannabe."

"Well, you know you can be safe in those conditions, so obviously you'll be safe in calm relaxing conditions." The Blue Ranger said. Naomi seemed to think about this for a little bit. She stepped back a bit. The Blue Ranger mounted the bike and revved it up a bit, tempting her to get on the bike. Naomi groaned and rolled her eyes, giving in. She ran over and climbed on behind him, sliding her arms around his waist. "Hold on." He said as he revved the bike again and rode off. Naomi tightened her hold, leaning against his back. The Blue Ranger drove the bike down to the beach which was deserted, due to the late night. He drove down to the shoreline. Naomi laughed as the waves splashed against the cuff of her jeans. The Blue Ranger smiled behind his helmet, enjoying the fact that he was giving her a nice time. They drove along the shore a bit longer until they came to a small cave at the far end of the beach. He pulled over and jumped off the bike. He held his hand out to her. Naomi giggled as she slid her hand in his gloved hand. He gently helped her off the bike.

"Wow." She said. "That was awesome." She said. She looked out to the waves and was mesmerized by the beauty of the water crashing against the rocks by the shoreline. "It's breathtaking." She said, barely above a whisper. The Blue Ranger came up behind her and slid his arms around her waist.

"You're breathtaking." He said softly. Naomi's head swam with excitement and giddiness and feeling his arms around her.

"I'm sure you say that to all the girls you bring here." She said.

"You're the only girl I've brought here." He admitted. Naomi grinned.

"OK, well, I feel special now." She said. The Blue Ranger chuckled.

"Good, because you are special." He said. Naomi leaned into his embrace, letting her eyes drift shut.

"I had questions to ask you..........For an interview, but suddenly, I can't even remember my name." She said. The two stood there, enjoying the other's company and the sound of the waves crashing for a while.

"I should probably get you home." He said. "You have school tomorrow."

"School's overrated." Naomi mumbled. He slid his arms away from her. Naomi groaned. The Blue Ranger took her hand and led her back to the bike.

"Come on." He said. Naomi climbed on. He got on as well and drove her home. Naomi climbed off the bike.

"I...I guess I'll see you around." She said.

"Count on it." He said. He drove off into the night. Naomi nearly floated through her front door, careful to shut it quietly so as not to wake up her parents. She glided up the stairs and into her room, where, after she shut the door, she let out a soft joyous laugh.

AN: Hey guys, it's Becky. Teal and I both want to apologize for making you all wait so long for an update, we've both been really busy. Hope you guys like the chapter, remember to review :-D


	9. The other McKnight

The next day, the school was buzzing from the front page of the school newspaper. Naomi walked into the building and saw a bunch of people in the hallway staring at her. Some were congratulating her for taking such a big risk with the article, while others were certain she'd meet the same fate as Kira once Randall got a hold of her. Naomi made it to her locker.

"Hey." Ethan said, walking over. He held up a copy of the paper. "Well, _Lois Lane_, I think you've reached celebrity status." He said. Naomi laughed.

"All in a days work. Man, everyone's staring at me." She said.

"Careful now, if your head gets any bigger, you won't be able to get into class." He said. Naomi gave him a mean look and opened her locker. She took out her books and shut her locker.

"Whatever. I had such a good time last night, not even your snide remarks can bug me." She grinned as she flipped her hair over her shoulder and went off to class. Ethan followed, secretly smiling. _I had a good time too. _He thought.

---

Conner pulled up to the school in his mustang and climbed out from behind the seat of his 'baby'. It had been his since his 16th birthday, compliments of his father, who lived in Blue Bay Harbor with Eric, his twin brother. As Conner was walking by the hood of the car, he ran his hand along the smooth paint job, and a cocky grin crossed his face. He was sure to be dead if Kira ever caught him calling his mustang, his baby. Conner jogged up the front steps and into the school. He missed having Kira around the school, and seeing her beautiful smile lighting up the rooms she walked into. He knew that once the PTA got wind of what Randall had done to Kira, compliments of Naomi's article, Kira would be back soon. The red clad teen stopped at his locker and began to work on the combination. A firm hand clapped down on his shoulder and Conner looked over his shoulder at the face.

"Dr. O! Morning, what can I do for you?" He questioned as he let his backpack slide from his shoulder and he tossed it into the locker. Dr. O smiled.  
  
"You're wanted in Guidance; apparently they want you to show around this new student." He replied. Conner nodded.  
  
"I'll go down there now." He replied, smiling. Conner locked his locker and headed towards the Guidance offices. As he approached, he could hear Randall screaming on the phone, in her office. The door was closed, but the screaming was evident. Conner winced and opened the door to the Guidance office and walked in.

"Ah, Conner, good morning!" Mr. Shaultz greeted Conner at the door. Conner smiled.  
  
"Morning sir, I'm here to get a new student that I'm showing around." He replied. The elderly teacher nodded.  
  
"He's right here. I think he might be some relation to you." Mr. Shaultz pointed to a male teen clad in yellow. "Eric, this is Conner McKnight, Conner, I'd like to introduce you to Eric McKnight." Connor's jaw fell open as Eric, his twin brother, turned around to face him. He gave a smile.

"'Sup, bro." Eric said. Connor's eyes shifted to Mr. Shaultz.

"..You're kidding me, right?" He asked desperately.

"I'm sure you two will have fun." He said as he ushered the two teens out of the office. Connor turned and tried to say something, only to have the door slammed in his face. Connor glared at Eric. Eric quickly reached into his pocket and produced a slip of paper.

"Here's my schedule." He said, handing it to Connor. Connor shoved it back at him.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Connor growled. Eric blinked.

"If this is how you treat all new students, I'm surprised they'd ask you to show me around." Eric said.

"Oh no, I am not showing you around." Connor scoffed. He walked away. Eric ran after him.

"Well, I kinda need you to show me around, new school and all." Eric said. Connor groaned and kept walking. He almost bumped into Naomi.

"Whoa." She said. Connor put his hands out and held onto her shoulders, steadying them both.

"Sorry, Naomi." He said. Naomi waved a dismissive hand.

"No harm, no fow-" She paused as she caught sight of Eric. "OK, either there are two of you with a logical explanation, or I'm seeing double for some reason." Eric shoved past Connor and took Naomi's hand.

"I'm Eric, his twin brother." He said, shaking her hand. Connor rolled his eyes.

"Oh. I've never seen you around." She said.

"I just moved back to Reefside. First day and all." He said. Naomi nodded. She looked over at Connor.

"Well, I'll see you in Dr. O's class." She said. She looked at Eric. "It was nice meeting you." She turned and left. Eric let out a low whistle as Naomi sauntered off down the hallway.  
  
"She's a hottie." Eric commented. Conner glared at him.  
  
"She's off limits." He replied. Conner started off down the hallway back towards his locker. Eric jogged after him.  
  
"Why is she off limits? She your girlfriend Con-man?" He joked. Conner swung around and glared at his twin brother.  
  
"No, she's not my girlfriend, but my friend Ethan has a massive crush on her." he replied. Eric nodded.  
  
"Alright then, how goes things on the love front for the other McKnight?" He questioned his twin. Conner looked at him.

"And that would be your business because?" He snapped at him. Eric's eyebrows shot up.

"Well, we're brothers and-" He began. Connor laughed bitterly.

"Brothers. Funny you didn't think about that when you decided to leave Reefside with dad after the divorce." He said. Eric looked at him. He decided to change topics.

"I heard Naomi say something about a 'Dr. O'. Is that Dr. Oliver? I've got him now." He said. Connor groaned.

"We've got class together, perfect." He sighed. He walked off to class. Eric stood there. "Come on!" Connor yelled back at him. Eric scrambled after him.

---

Everyone was sitting in class. Eric was sitting off to the side. Thankfully, Dr. O had picked up on the animosity Connor had for his twin and didn't make the two sit together. Dr. O was just talking about the Mesozoic period when the voice of Ms. Crawford, Principal Randall's secretary came over the loud speaker.

"Will Naomi Carlton please report to Principal Randall's office?" She said. Dr. Oliver stopped talking and looked at Naomi. Everyone was staring at her. Naomi grabbed her things and got up. She went up to the door. Dr. Oliver looked at her.

"Good luck." He muttered to her. Naomi nodded and walked out. He looked back at the class. "All right, everyone, let's get back to business." He said loudly, continuing the lecture. Ethan looked at Connor.

"What do you think that was about?" He whispered to his friend and fellow ranger. Connor looked at him.

"Let's see, the issue of the paper with her article on the front page comes out and she gets called into the office....Three guesses man." He said sarcastically. Ethan sighed.

"I hope she doesn't get expelled." Ethan said. Connor looked at him. He knew it didn't help anyone to take out his anger at Eric on his friend. He sighed.

"Yeah, me too, man." He said sincerely.


	10. McKnight Mixup

Naomi walked to the front office of the school. She walked in and saw Ms. Crawford talking on the telephone with someone. She stood in front of the woman's desk. Ms. Crawford covered the mouthpiece of the phone and looked at her.

"May I help you?" She asked.

"Uh, yeah, I'm Naomi," she replied. Ms. Crawford cut her off with a nod.

"Go right on in dear." She said as she returned to her telephone conversation. Naomi walked into Principal Randall's office. Randall looked up from her desk.

"Ah, Reefside's own Woodward and Bernstein rolled into one annoying person." Randall said in a sarcastically sweet tone. "Sit." She said in a much sterner voice. Naomi obliged. She sat in the chair facing Principal Randall.

"You wanted to see me?" Naomi asked with a tone of innocence.

"Yes, I did. And I trust you know exactly why it is I did?" She asked. When Naomi didn't answer, the shrewd older woman smirked. She held up a copy of the newspaper that she had had on the desk. "I must say, not many students would show their face in this school after writing such filth."

"You read my article, got to say, I'm flattered." Naomi muttered. Randall tightened her jaw.

"Right." She said. She looked down at the newspaper. "I especially loved the part where you refer to me as 'a power-tripping tyrant'. Marvelous." Naomi watched Randall carefully, trying to see any indication of the fate that awaited her. "Now, as to the reason I called you in here." Randall said. "After reading your article, if such a term can be applied, the thought of expelling you did seem rather appealing." She said. Naomi bit her lip with worry. "Of course, you're partner in crime, Beverly, messenger a copy of the newspaper to the head of the school board, and I've been getting interesting phone calls all morning."

"So, what, are you fired?" Naomi asked, letting her curiosity get the best of her. Randall gave a tight smile.

"No. But I am under a watchful eye now, thanks to you." Randall said, not too happily.

"So, if I'm not expelled, why am I here?" Naomi asked.

"Well, I thought you'd want to know that your dear friend, Kira, will have her expulsion revoked. She will be back in our halls on Monday." She said. Naomi bit her cheek to keep from grinning. Naomi nodded.

"Good, it'll be nice to have her back around." She commented. Randall just glared at her.

"You're free to leave and go back to class." Randall chided before turning back to more paper work, and her ringing phone. Naomi couldn't help but smile as she left the room. Kira was coming back. This was going to be exciting. She couldn't help feel a little bit proud of herself at accomplishing so much. She heard the bell ring, signifying the end of class. Naomi adjusted her book bag on her shoulder and made it to her next class.

"I guess I'll have to wait till lunch to tell the guys the good news." She said to herself.

---

It was lunchtime and Ethan and Conner were sitting at a table, both concerned for Naomi. Ethan was wringing his fingers in his hands nervously.

"Have you seen her at all since she went to the office?" Ethan asked. Conner shook his head.

"Other then Dr. O's class, I don't have any classes with her until after lunch." He said. He could see how worried Ethan was. He really did like Naomi a lot. For his sake, Conner hoped Naomi was all right. It tore him up inside seeing Kira so depressed about being expelled; he'd hate to see Ethan have to go through that with Naomi.

"I wish there was some way of knowing what happened." Ethan said.

"Knowing what happened with what?" Said a voice. Conner and Ethan spun around in their seats to see Naomi standing there.

"Naomi!" Ethan exclaimed. He jumped up and pulled her into a hug. Naomi's eyes widened.

"Uh, great to see you too Ethan." Naomi said.

"Sorry, I…" Ethan stammered. He felt embarrassed as he sat back down next to Conner.

"We were both worried about you." Conner said quickly, covering for his friend. "What happened?" He asked. Naomi grinned.

"Expect to see Kira in Dr. Oliver's class Monday morning." She said. It was now Conner's turn to get excited.

"Are you serious?" He exclaimed. He jumped up and pulled her into a bone crushing hug. Naomi laughed.

"Man, you two are hug people." She joked. Conner released her. Naomi sat across from the two guys. "I don't deserve all the credit." Naomi said modestly. "Bev sent a copy of the newspaper to the head of the school board."

"So, is everything okay? You're not in trouble, right?" Ethan asked.

"Well, I don't think I'm on Randall's favorite person list, but other then that, I'm all right." Naomi said. "Apparently the school board's going to watch our dear principal very carefully from now on." Naomi added.

"I just heard the buzz about that article," came Eric's voice as he sat down beside Naomi. "Very rebel." He said. Conner glared at him.

"I'm sorry, did someone invite you to sit with us?" Conner asked. Ethan, Naomi and Eric all looked at him.

"No, but I-" Eric began.

"OK, well, see ya." Conner said, cutting him off.

"Conner." Naomi chastised. "What is up with you? It's your brother's first day here, he can sit with us." Conner tightened his jaw.

"Fine." He said. He grabbed his bag and got up. "If you don't mind, I think I'll go sit by the soccer field. I think one McKnight at the table is enough." And with that he walked off.

"Conner!" Ethan called after his friend, but he kept walking. Ethan sighed. He looked at Naomi. "I better go see if he's OK." Naomi nodded. Eric smiled.

"Hey, no worries, we'll be fine here." He said. Ethan got up and went after Conner.

---

"Conner, wait up." Ethan said as he jogged over to Conner. Conner stopped and looked at Ethan.

"What?" He snapped. Ethan put his hands up.

"Whoa, man, I come in peace." Conner sighed and went to sit on the bleachers. Ethan followed.

"Yeah, well, you should probably go back." Conner said. "Eric might put the moves on Naomi."

"What makes you say that?" Ethan asked.

"Because he called her a hottie earlier." Conner replied. Ethan flinched, as if deciding whether to go or stay, he decided Conner was more important at the moment. He sat down beside his friend and fellow ranger.

"Is that why you stormed off?" Ethan asked.

"I didn't storm…I walked." Conner replied indignantly.

"Dude, you stormed, rain clouds and everything." Ethan smirked. Conner sighed. Ethan's expression turned serious. "Talk to me." Conner took a deep breath.

"I hate my brother." Conner said, leaving that as the plain suitable response.

"OK. But don't all siblings have that?" Ethan asked. He himself wouldn't know first hand since he was an only child.

"No, it's more then that." Conner said. He ran his fingers through his hair. "When our parents got divorced when Eric and I were nine years old, my dad got a job in Blue Bay Harbor, our parents gave us a choice on where we wanted to be. I told Eric that I wanted to stay here with our mom, and back then he and I were inseparable, and he said if I was staying, he'd stay too." Conner sighed. "Dad took us on a trip to the place he was getting in Blue Bay, and I guess it was pretty big and all that. His new job was pretty high paying. Next thing I know, Eric's saying he wants to go with dad." Conner looked down. "I just felt like he was abandoning me and my mom just like dad was. I guess I can't just move on and forgive." Ethan nodded, understanding.

"So, what are you going to do now that he's here in Reefside?" Ethan asked.

"Pray that it's a very short stay." Conner said. Ethan sighed and put a friendly hand on Conner's shoulder. Conner took another deep breath and forced on a smile. "You know what, let's forget about my brother. My girlfriend's going to be here, sitting right beside me in class, on Monday morning." Ethan laughed.

"Yeah." He said.

---

After school, Conner went home and was shocked to see a moving truck parked right outside his house. He dodged some movers taking boxes inside and went in to find his mom telling them where to put the boxes.

"Mom?" He asked. "What is all this?" Mrs. McKnight looked at her son and was about to answer him.

"Hey mom, is it all right if I put my bowling trophy on the mantle next to Conner's soccer trophy?" Conner spun around to see Eric standing at the top of the stairs, holding up a trophy.

"Sure thing, honey." Mrs. McKnight answered. Conner's jaw dropped.

"Thanks. Hey bro." Eric said as he went to the living room and placed the trophy on the mantle. He went back upstairs. Conner looked at his mother.

"What is he doing here? And why does he need to put his trophy on our mantle? I'm sure dad has a mantle in his mansion in Blue Bay Harbor." Conner said. Mrs. McKnight sighed.

"Eric's come home." She simply replied.

"What do you mean? He's got a home, and it's not here." Conner said, not liking how this was sounding.

"Well, Conner, now it is. And I would appreciate it if you could be a little bit more welcoming to your brother. He told me what happened at lunch today." She said. Conner scoffed and shook his head.

"I'm sorry, having my twin brother suddenly show up at my school caught me by surprise, I wasn't exactly prepared. Had I known, I surely would've left the country."

"OK, so now you're mad at me for not telling you?" Mrs. McKnight asked. Conner sighed and went to the living room and flopped down on the couch. His mother followed.

"Now that you mention it, yeah, sure, why not. Mind telling me why you didn't?" He asked.

"Because I knew that if I had, you would've shouted and yelled, and frankly I get enough of that from your father."

"Oh, compare me to Dad, thanks, add insult to injury." Conner said sarcastically. Mrs. McKnight sighed and sat beside him.

"Honey, come on. I thought you'd like this. Your brother's home." She said, rubbing his shoulder. Conner sighed and shrugged her hand off. He got up.

"I'm going to go see Kira." He said as he got up and got ready to leave. Eric jogged down the steps and into the living room.

"Who's Kira?" He asked, glancing at his brother. Conner turned and faced his twin.

"None of your business." He snarled. Mrs. McKnight stood and looked at her eldest son.

"Conner don't be so mean! Eric, Kira is Conner's friend, and she happens to be a girl." She finished. Eric nodded.

"So she's your bed buddy?" He questioned. Mrs. McKnight was holding a picture of her sons and promptly dropped it, letting the frame and glass shatter at her feet.

"CONNER JAMES MCKNIGHT! YOUR SLEEPING WITH KIRA FORD?!" She yelled. Conner's eyes widened.

"What?! No!" Conner said quickly. He glared at Eric. "You are so dead."

"What?" Eric asked innocently. Conner sighed and looked at his mom who went to pick up the glass shards. She cut her hand.

"Ow." She hissed. Conner and Eric both went to her.

"Mom, are you all right?" Eric asked.

"Yes, I'm fine." She said.

"Great going, dumbass, this is all your fault." Conner snarled. He took Mrs. McKnight's hands and helped her to her feet. He took her to the kitchen to clean the cut.

"I didn't.." Eric tried to say. "Mean to.." Eric sighed. He went and got a broom and began to sweep up the mess. He picked up the picture. It was he and Conner when they were eight years old. They were at the beach and were standing together with their arms around the others shoulders. He remembered that day. Their parents had taken them to the beach and later that night told them they were getting a divorce. He was torn from his thoughts when some footsteps approached the open front door.

"Knock, knock." Came a female voice. He looked over to see a blonde girl with somewhat curly hair dressed in a yellow shirt and a plaid skirt. She smiled and walked into the house. "Hey." She said.

"Uh..Hey." He replied. She walked over.

"What did you do to your hair?" She asked. Eric cocked an eyebrow.

"Huh? Oh..Wait, I'm-"

"Well, I just wanted to come over and see if you wanted to go out to celebrate." She asked.

"Celebrate what?" Eric asked. The girl looked at him strangely.

"Didn't you hear?" She asked. "I'm being un-expelled." She gave a wide smile. "Naomi is a total saint. I so hated not being able to see you in class everyday." She put her arms around his neck. "I missed you." She smiled and leaned in and kissed him. At that same moment, Conner had come back from the kitchen because his mother had made him go apologize.

"Hey, Eri……KIRA!" Conner yelled. The girl and Eric jumped apart and looked at Conner.

"Conner?" Kira gasped. She looked at Eric. "I-" She didn't get to finish, for that moment Conner charged at Eric.

"You are so dead!" Conner yelled. He punched Eric in the face.

"OW!" Eric exclaimed as he fell back. He held his jaw.

"What's going on out there?" Mrs. McKnight called. Conner continued glaring at Eric. Eric gulped.

"Nothing mom. The broom just fell on my foot." Eric said, standing up.

"Oh, not tattling. Well, maybe I won't kill you, just maim you for kissing my girlfriend!" Conner growled. He went to hit Eric.

"Wait!" Kira got between them and put her hands on Conner's shoulders, keeping him back.

"Out of the way, Kira, I need to perform a twin-ectomy." Conner said.

"God, calm down you hot-head!" Eric said. Kira sighed and succeeded in pushing Conner away from Eric. She grabbed his face in her hands and made her look at him.

"Conner, stop." She said. "It was my fault." She said.

"What?" Conner asked.

"I knew you had a twin brother, but I never thought it was an _identical _twin brother, and I didn't know he was here-"

"That makes two of us." Conner said.

"So, naturally, I thought he was you…" She continued. Conner blinked.

"What?"

"I didn't mean to kiss your brother. I meant to kiss you." Kira said. Conner let out a sigh.

"So, my brother didn't put the moves on you?" He asked.

"Hi, standing right here." Eric protested.

"Shut up." Conner said. "This doesn't mean you're off the hook, you could've told her you weren't me."

"He didn't try anything Conner. I'm sure he was going to say something I just didn't give him the chance." She finished. Conner looked at Eric, who was massaging his jaw.

"OK, if it really was an accident, I'm sorry for getting crazy, Kira." Conner said. Kira smiled and hugged him. The two kissed.

"Oh, sure, don't apologize to me." Eric muttered.

"Is everything all right out here?" Mrs. McKnight asked as she entered the room, holding a dishtowel to her hand. "Oh, hello Kira. I didn't know you were here." Kira smiled.

"I just got here actually." She then noticed her hand. "Mrs. McKnight, what happened to your hand?" Kira asked, going over to the older woman.

"Oh, it's nothing, dear, just cut myself picking up some glass, nothing to worry about. It's just a scratch."

"Are you sure? Do you need to go to the emergency room for stitches or anything?" Kira asked.

"It's just a cut, geez bro, you're girlfriend's just a tiny bit manic." Eric said.

"Shut up." Conner said.

"Girlfriend?" Mrs. McKnight asked. Conner's face paled. He went over and grabbed Kira's hand.

"Hey, Kira, let's uh, go to Cyberspace." He said quickly, dragging her out the door. Kira was just a bit confused.

"Conner." Mrs. McKnight called.

"Got to go mom." Conner said as he left with Kira. Eric blinked.

"Do you want me to go after him?" He asked his mother. Mrs. McKnight sighed.

"I'm going to need to talk to him sooner or later, maybe you should go to Cyberspace and try to talk to him, without you two killing each other." She commented before walking back into the kitchen. Eric went after them.

"You didn't tell your mother we were dating?" Was the first thing Eric heard when he walked out. Kira didn't look too happy, and Conner looked like a deer in headlights.

"I…I was meaning to..I just.."

"I mean, I would just assume that when a guy tells a girl he loves her, oh, I don't know, maybe he had taken the time to tell his mother about the girl!" Kira said. She went to walk away. Conner's eyes widened. He ran after her and grabbed her arm.

"Hold on a second. You said you didn't remember me saying that." Conner said. Now Kira looked like the deer.

"I…I've got to go." She said. She pulled her arm free and ran off.

"Hey!" Conner yelled. He turned and looked at Eric. "Thanks, thanks a lot." He said. He shoved past him and sat down on the stoop. Eric blinked and took off running after Kira.

"Kira, wait." Eric said. Kira stopped and looked at Eric.

"What?" She asked.

"Look, I'm sorry if I caused that fight between you two."

"You didn't." Kira said. She sighed and sat on the curb. Eric sat beside her.

"I'm sure Conner didn't mean to seem like he's ashamed of you by not telling mom. I mean, it's just a normal teenage guy thing, not telling parents about what's going on in their lives."

"You don't need to defend him." Kira said.

"I'm not. I mean, well, ok, maybe I am, but it's truthful defending." Eric said. Kira sighed.

"Maybe I was just looking for a reason to fight." Kira said.

"Maybe I'm not the twin you need to be talking to." Eric said. Kira smiled.

"I guess you're right." She stood up. "Thanks." She went and walked back to Conner. She sat down beside him.

"I figured you'd be halfway to the Mexican boarder by now." Conner muttered. Kira slid her hand in his.

"I'm sorry." She said. Conner looked up at her.

"For what?" He asked.

"For lying to you the other day, and for getting mad at you for a stupid reason."

"It wasn't stupid." Conner said.

"It was. I mean, I shouldn't have assumed anything. You know what they say about assuming." She said with a soft, hopeful smirk. Conner smiled. He put an arm around her and pulled her close, kissing her forehead.

"Why did you lie?" He asked. Kira sighed.

"I don't know, I guess I wasn't ready to say it back."

"I wasn't expecting you to say it back." Conner said.

"Well, don't people say it to hear the person say it back?"

"No." Conner said. He let her go and turned to face her fully. "Kira, I said it because I felt it and wanted you to know. If you're not ready to say it back, and that is if you are ever ready, it doesn't change that." Kira blinked, feeling tears in her eyes.

"So, you felt it..Does that mean you don't anymore?" She asked. Conner leaned in and captured her lips in the most passionate kiss she'd ever felt. After it was over, she was still reeling from the intensity of it. "What do you think?" Conner asked. Kira blinked and smiled.

"Wow." She said. Eric watched the two make up and gave a smile, glad to see that they were OK. He just wished that he and Conner were all right. Even more so, he wished he could tell Conner the reason why he was back in Reefside.


	11. Grocery Store Encounter

Later that evening found Tommy at the local grocery store. He entered the small establishment, shoving his car keys in his pocket.

"Good evening, Dr. Oliver." Came the voice of one of his students, Lilly. She was also the daughter of the owner of the store. She was standing behind the cash register and had just finished ringing up a customer. She handed the elderly woman her bags and smiled at her. "Thank you ma'am, come again." She said. The woman smiled and made her way to the door. Tommy opened the door for her. She smiled at Tommy.

"Thank you, young man." She said.

"You're welcome." He said, returning the smile. The woman left. Tommy saw the store wasn't as full as it usually was. "Quiet night, huh?" He asked Lilly.

"Uh huh, my favorite kind." She said with a smirk. Tommy laughed as he grabbed a basket. He went off and began shopping for some items. At another part of the store, near the cereal section, were Kimberly and Trini. They had just come to Reefside earlier that afternoon and were currently staying in Dana and Carter's guesthouse. Kimberly didn't want to impose and said she could stay in a hotel, but Dana would have none of it.

"OK, sweetie, pick out your cereal." Kimberly said to her daughter. Trini's favorite cereal changed all the time and Kimberly found it easier to just let Trini pick it out herself instead of guessing and have Trini pout and say it wasn't what she wanted.

"Okay, mommy." The little girl said. She skipped over to the side and grabbed a box of Cookie Crisps. Kimberly sighed and shook her head with a smile. That cereal was packed with sugar and other not so healthy things, but Trini was just seven years old, what else could be expected? Trini skipped over and placed the box in the basket that Kimberly was holding along with the eggs, bread and peanut butter that they had picked up before. Kimberly turned and gabbed a box of Special K for herself. At that same moment, unbeknownst to her, a certain ex-boyfriend of hers had just entered the aisle from the opposite end. "Mommy, can we have macaroni for dinner?" Trini asked.

"I guess so." Kimberly replied. "We need to go get the box for it." Tommy froze when he heard that voice. It was the voice that haunted his dreams and fantasies. But it couldn't be…Kimberly was in Florida, wasn't she? He turned to look just as Kimberly and Trini were walking towards him. Kimberly gasped and froze in her place when she saw him. "T-T-Tommy?" She squeaked out. Tommy had to blink a few times to make sure he was seeing things correctly.

"Kim?" He asked. Trini looked from her mother to Tommy. She squinted when she looked at Tommy. She gasped and jumped up and down with glee when she recognized him.

"Mommy, it's the man from the picture." She said, feeling proud of herself. _Mommy? _Tommy thought to himself. Kimberly blinked and quickly turned to her, trying to quiet her down. _Well, the cat's out of the bag now. _Kimberly thought. Trini walked up to him. Tommy looked at her. She wiggled her finger at him, telling him to get closer. Tommy kneeled down before her. She leaned in close and put her hand on the side of her mouth, as if she was telling a secret. "You had longer hair in the picture." She said. Tommy couldn't help smile at how cute she was.

"Oh." Tommy said. Kimberly took a deep breath. She walked over to them. Tommy looked up and got back up. Kimberly put a hand on Trini's shoulder.

"Sweetie, why don't you go get some milk and I'll be there in a second, ok?" Kimberly asked. Trini smiled and nodded.

"Okay." She said as she went off to the refrigerated section. Tommy watched her leave. He looked at Kimberly.

"Hey." He said. Kimberly gave a nervous smile.

"Hey." She replied. Tommy reached back and scratched the back of his neck. Kimberly's knees almost buckled. She remembered how he'd do that whenever he got flustered back in high school. _Well, it's nice to see that we're both a little nervous. _She thought.

"Uh, how have you been?" He asked as he walked to where Trini was with Kimberly.

"Good." She said. "You?"

"Same." He said. "So, you have a daughter.." He began.

"Yeah." Kimberly said. Tommy looked at her, as if to want to ask about her. "Her name's Trini. She's seven years old. Actually, her name is Katrina, but she likes to go by Trini after, as she says, her favorite auntie." Kimberly smiled, and then frowned. "And, I guess, after what happened to the actual Trini, calling her that made it seem like a part of her was with me." Tommy nodded.

"Yeah. I had wanted to go to the funeral…But-"

"You had to present your thesis." Kimberly said. "Zack told me. And we all saw all the flowers you sent to the Kwans and for the funeral."

"I just felt like a total shit not going." Tommy admitted. Kimberly nudged his shoulder. Tommy looked over and realized that Trini wasn't too far from them. "Oh..I mean, I felt awful." He amended. Kimberly smiled.

"We all understood. I mean, you weren't the only one who couldn't make it. Billy couldn't either."

"Yeah, but Billy's on another planet." Tommy pointed out.

"True." Kimberly said.

"So, how long have you been in Reefside?" Tommy finally asked.

"A few hours." Kimberly said. "I was transferred to Reefside General."

"You're a doctor?" Tommy asked.

"OB/GYN." Kimberly clarified.

"Oh." Tommy said. Trini walked over and placed the milk in Kimberly's basket.

"Can I go get the macaroni?" She asked.

"Sure." Kimberly said. Trini went off to get it.

"So, where are you staying?" Tommy asked.

"With a friend of mine from Med school. I think you know her, or at least her husband."

"I do?" Tommy asked.

"Uh huh, Carter Grayson ring any bells?" She asked. Tommy looked at her, remembering the name of the Red Lightspeed Ranger. "Dana, his wife, told me about the whole red _ranger _pow-wow." Kimberly added, careful to lower her voice at the ranger part.

"Oh, wow, small world." Tommy chuckled. Trini returned, placing the box of Kraft's Macaroni and Cheese. Kimberly smiled.

"Honey, can you go get some butter?" Kimberly asked. Trini nodded and went off again. "So, I heard through the grapevine, A.K.A. Zack, that you're a high school teacher." Kimberly said. "Got to say, a little bit unexpected."

"As unexpected as a former Pan Global gymnast being a doctor, wouldn't you say?" Tommy replied with a smirk. Kimberly laughed.

"Touché." She said. Trini returned with some butter. Tommy grabbed a carton of milk and a carton of orange juice and placed them both in his own basket. "Well, it was nice seeing you." Kimberly said.

"Well, I'm done with my shopping too, so I guess I'll walk to the front with you two." Tommy said. Kimberly smiled. The three of them walked over to the register. Lilly smiled at them and rang up the two adults' purchases. After Tommy and Kimberly paid for their products, Kimberly gave Trini the lighter of the two bags they had and took her hand as they walked out of the store.

"So, I guess I'll be seeing you around." He said. They reached Kim's car and Kimberly placed the two bags in the trunk. Trini got into the backseat of the car. Kimberly looked at Tommy.

"Looks like it." She said.

"Maybe we can go out for coffee some time. You know, two old friends reminiscing and such." Tommy suggested. "That is, if it's all right with your husband." He added. Kimberly pursed her lips.

"I don't think that would be a problem." Kimberly said. "Seeing as I'm not married." Kimberly almost laughed at the embarrassed look Tommy dawned.

"Oh." He said. "Boyfriend?" He asked. Kimberly shook her head. "Oh." He said again. "Uh, so, I guess I'll call you sometime." He said.

"Yeah." Kimberly said. "Oh." She said, remembering something. She got her wallet out of her pocket and pulled out a business card, handing it to him. Tommy looked at it.

KIMBERLY ANN HART

GYNECOLOGIST/OBSTETRISION

Below her name and title was a phone number. "Wait." She said. "That's got my old number." She took the card and pulled a pen from her pocket. She scribbled out the number and wrote a new one down and handed it back to Tommy. Tommy smiled.

"Great." He said, placing the card in his pocket. "I'll call you." He said.

"Okay." Kimberly said. "Well, I've got to go." She said. She got her car keys and opened her door. Tommy smiled and waved at her as she got in and started the car. He waved at Trini and as the car left the parking lot. Tommy then stood there for a while, going over what had just happened.

---

Eric sighed as he finished unpacking his old/new room. He pulled out of his bag a picture of himself, Tally and Kyle a few days before they joined the Ninja Academy. He softly ran his hand over the glass of the frame and felt his heart ache with missing them. He sighed and placed the picture on his nightstand and sat down on his bed. He heard someone knock on his door.

"Yeah?" He asked. The door opened to reveal Conner.

"Hey, can I uh, come in?" He asked. Eric nodded. Conner walked in.

"What's up?" Eric asked.

"Listen, I know that you talked to Kira and if it wasn't for you she would've gone home and not talk to me for god knows how long, and I, uh, just, uh, wanted to uh, say-"

"Are you this fast to get to the point with everyone?" Eric teased. Conner sighed.

"I just wanted to say thanks." Conner finally said. Eric smiled.

"Don't mention it. I mean, we're brother's right?" He said. Conner looked down.

"Yeah. I guess I haven't been acting very brotherly." Conner admitted.

"Well, I wasn't going to say anything." Eric muttered.

"I'm sorry." Conner said. "For treating you like crap, for hitting you, and well, everything." Eric nodded.

"I guess I can't really blame you." Eric sighed. "I mean, after me leaving you and mom with dad and everything." Conner went and sat beside his brother. "So, what do we do now?" Eric asked.

"I say the past is in the past, and we start over. That is, if you forgive me for being a royal dick today." Conner said. Eric laughed and punched Conner's shoulder playfully.

"No problem, your majesty." He said. Conner laughed.

"So, Kira's downstairs and we're going to go meet Naomi and Ethan at Cyberspace, you want to come?" Conner asked.

"Well, mom wants me to finish unpacking by tonight." Eric said.

"We'll only be gone for a few hours, and when we get back, I'll help you with the rest." Conner offered. Eric smiled, feeling the old brotherly bond they had when they were younger.

"All right." Eric agreed. The two brothers got up and left the room. Conner put an arm around Eric and they went to meet Kira in the living room. Mrs. McKnight watched her two sons and Kira leave the house together from the kitchen. She smiled, happy that Conner and Eric were getting along. She frowned slightly, wondering if Conner would still be happy if he found out Eric's secret.

---

Kira, Conner and Eric walked into Cyberspace.

"Hey guys, over here." Naomi called them over, waving to them from the table she and Ethan were at. Ethan turned around to see them walking over, he was slightly surprised to see Eric and Conner so chummy.

"Hey." Kira said as the three of them sat down.

"So, Kira, how does it feel to be un-expelled?" Ethan asked with a smile. Kira grinned.

"Great. And I owe it all to my dear friend, Naomi." She said, looking at Naomi. Naomi smiled.

"Aw, shucks, you're going to make me blush." She said. The others all laughed. Trent came over, carrying the drinks Naomi and Ethan had ordered for themselves and Kira and Conner. Ethan knew Conner and Kira were coming so he had ordered for them as well. Trent placed Ethan, Naomi and Kira's drinks down and then looked at Conner and Eric.

"Oh great, as if one Conner wasn't enough of a pain." Trent said meanly. Conner tightened his jaw, ready to lash back out at him, but decided against it. He put on a forced smile and looked at Trent.

"Trent, this is my twin brother, Eric." Conner said.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Trent said. He went to set Conner's drink down, but then "accidentally" made it spill on his lap instead. Conner slid back in his chair and jumped up with a surprised yell. "Oh, man, I'm sorry." Trent said, of course not meaning it. Conner glared at him.

"Yeah, sure." Conner said, trying to hold in his anger. He grabbed some napkins and began dapping at the wet spot on his pants. Trent merely shrugged and walked away.

"Well, that guy is a ray of sunshine." Eric remarked sarcastically.

"Isn't he?" Conner said back to his brother in the same tone. He sighed and sat back down. Haley saw the whole thing go down and walked over.

"Hey, Conner, sorry about that, Trent's been a little-" She said.

"No problem." Conner said. "Oh, Haley this is Eric." He said. Haley smiled at Eric and stuck out her hand. Eric shook her hand.

"Nice to meet you, Eric." She said. She looked at Conner. "How about I bring you another drink, on the house?" She asked. Conner smiled.

"Thanks." He said. Haley returned the smile and then turned to Eric.

"And what can I get for you?" She asked.

"Uh, I don't know. What do you have?" He asked. Kira laughed softly.

"What doesn't she have is a better question." She said.

"Oh….Do you have banana smoothies?" He asked. Haley smiled.

"One cherry coke and one banana smoothie coming up." She said as she walked away. Eric smiled.

"She's nice." He said to the others.

"Yeah, she knows how to make people feel really welcomed. The first time I came here she made the best mint chocolate chip smoothie I've ever had and said it was on the house as sort of a welcome to Reefside special." Naomi smiled.

"Wow." Eric said. The five teenagers began aimlessly chit chatting for a few minutes when Haley came back with two drinks.

"One cherry coke," she said, placing the drink in front of Conner. "And one 'Welcome to Reefside' banana smoothie special." She said, placing the drink in front of Eric. "If you guys need anything else, let me know." She said as she walked away. Naomi smirked and looked at Eric.

"Told ya." She said. Eric gave a full-out smile. Ethan watched Eric carefully, remembering what Conner had said earlier about Eric thinking Naomi was a "hottie". Should he be worried about Naomi thinking the same thing about Eric?

"Oh, hey, I totally forgot to tell you guys," Naomi said to Kira and Conner, tearing Ethan away from her thoughts. "I had a bit of a late night rendezvous the other night." Naomi said with a smile. Ethan almost gulped. If she told them about the other night, he surely was going to have hell to pay for taking the raptor cycle out without permission.

"Really?" Kira asked, intrigued. "With whom?" Conner nodded, interested to know who was she talking about, but also worried about Ethan and his affections towards Naomi that might not be reciprocated. He took a sip of his soda.

"The blue ranger." Naomi beamed. Conner's eyes widened and he coughed, choking on his soda. Kira's eyes grew wide as well and she slid a glance at Ethan, who seemed to be very interested in the wood grain of the table.

"Blue ranger?" Eric asked. "You mean, you guys have power rangers here too? Wow. We had them back in Blue Bay Harbor."

"Wait, are you sure it was the blue ranger?" Conner asked, coughing a bit as his soda went down the right way.

"Well, he was wearing the blue suit, riding the blue ranger's vehicle, and sounded like him, so yeah, I'm pretty sure." Naomi said.

"Were you in some sort of trouble?" Kira asked. Naomi shook her head.

"No, he left a note in my locker saying he wanted to see me, so we met up." Kira and Conner both looked at Ethan, who still kept his head down. "Oh, gosh, I can't believe I forgot, he left this outside my window a couple of nights before that." She added, pulling out the necklace from under her shirt. Now Conner knew this was genuine, seeing as he had been with Ethan when he bought that necklace. Ethan had said he was going to give it to Naomi when he finally got the nerves to ask her out. Apparently, the blue ranger got the nerves before Ethan did.

"So, you've got yourself a superhero lover, huh?" Eric asked, wiggling his eyebrows. Naomi laughed.

"I wouldn't say that." She said. "I mean, we did go to the beach and it was pretty romantic."

"Well, are you going to meet him again?" Eric asked.

"I don't think she will, I mean, it sounds like just a one time thing." Kira said. "Don't you think so, _Ethan_?" She asked. Ethan brought his head up.

"Uh..Who knows?" Ethan said nervously. "I mean, this guy sounds pretty uh, into her, so, it could uh, go either way."

"Perhaps, but don't you think the blue ranger should worry about more important issues, like the protection of the world?" Conner asked.

"Wow, you guys really know how to make a girl feel special." Naomi said. Kira blinked and looked at Naomi.

"Oh, no, we're not saying that you're not important, it's just that Rangers have mega important jobs, and they shouldn't be distracted."

"Distracted?" Naomi asked. Ethan clenched his fist.

"Don't you think it's possible that the blue ranger could have a girlfriend and save the world at the same time?" He asked. "I mean, I've heard some rumors that the **red** and **yellow** rangers have a thing, but they seem to be able to get the job done nonetheless." He added, casting looks at Conner and Kira as he said so.

"So, Naomi _is _the blue ranger's girlfriend." Eric said.

"I'm not." Naomi said. "We just…hung out." Before anyone could say anything else, Cassidy and Devin barged into the group.

"Hey, Naomi, we couldn't help overhearing," Cassidy began.

"You mean eavesdropping?" Kira muttered. Cassidy ignored her.

"And we heard that you're a power ranger's girlfriend. Mind if we get an interview?"

"I….I'm not his girlfriend." Naomi said, feeling a little overwhelmed by Cassidy's insistence. "I have to get home." Naomi said, getting up.

"I'll walk you." Ethan said. He began to get up but was pulled down by Conner.

"Uh, Ethan, remember we have to talk about that project." Conner said.

"What project?" Ethan asked.

"That _extra credit_ for _Dr. O._" Conner said through clenched teeth. Ethan gulped.

"I'll walk her home." Eric volunteered, seeing that if left alone, Cassidy would probably chase Naomi down the street.

"Thanks." Naomi said. The two of them walked out with Cassidy and Devin on their heels. Ethan looked at Kira and Conner.

"I'm in trouble, aren't I?" He asked.

"Is duh a suitable answer?" Kira asked.


	12. Prove me right or wrong, Jason

Kimberly knocked on the Grayson's door. Carter got up from his seat on the living room couch and opened it.

"Hey, Kim, Trini." He greeted. He stepped aside to let them in. Kimberly came in and Trini followed.

"Hey, where's Dana?" Kimberly asked out of curiosity. Carter gave a sigh.

"In bed. She said something along the lines of baby being a pain, just like it's father." He said. Kimberly couldn't help giggle.

"Don't worry, in four months, the baby will be born and she'll be the happy Dana you fell in love with." Kimberly said. Carter sighed.

"I don't know if I can survive it." He joked. "Anyway, are you two settling into the guesthouse all right?" He asked.

"Yeah, Uncle Carter, it's really nice." Trini smiled. Carter laughed and ruffled her hair. Trini squirmed away from him.

"You don't know how much I appreciate you guys letting us stay in your guest house." Kimberly said. Carter waved his hand dismissively.

"You and Dana were best friends in college, that plus the fact that the three of us did have similar past occupations," he said, alluding to their ranger history, "makes you family." He said. Kimberly smiled.

"Well, thanks. Listen, I was wondering if you could watch Trini for a little while, I wanted to go by the hospital. You know, check to see if Jason's all right, organize my new office." Carter nodded.

"Sure, no problem." He looked at Trini. "Did you have dinner all ready?" He asked. Trini nodded. "Hmm, because I was going to make some sundaes, but if you're full, I guess not." He joked. Trini's reaction was as expected. She jumped up with glee.

"No! I'm not full." She said. Carter grinned.

"All right then, I'll go get ready, meet me in the kitchen." He said as he went to the kitchen. Kimberly knelt before Trini.

"OK, baby, mommy's going to be back in a little while, are you going to be a good girl for Uncle Carter and Aunt Dana?" She asked. Trini nodded. "That's my girl." She said, hugging her daughter. She got up and Trini ran off to the kitchen. Kimberly smiled and left.

----

Eric and Naomi ran into the woods.

"OK, I think we lost them." Eric said, trying to catch his breath.

"Are you sure?" Naomi asked. Just then, they heard footsteps.

"I think we lost them." Came Devin's voice. Cassidy groaned.

"We need to find them. Getting this interview can totally make me famous." Cassidy said. Eric grabbed Naomi's hand and the two took off running, trying to get as far away from Cassidy and Devin as possible.

---

"Guys, do we really need to tell Dr. O about this?" Ethan asked as Kira and Conner dragged him to the base.

"Hmm, let's see, lying to Naomi, using your ranger-ness for things other then protecting the universe, and taking out the cycle…Yep, I think we need to discuss this with him." Conner said.

"I didn't lie to Naomi." Ethan said. Kira and Conner both gave him a look. "…I just didn't tell her that I'm the blue ranger.."

"A lie by omission is still a lie." Kira pointed out. Ethan groaned.

"Come on, Dr. O's going to kill me." Ethan said.

"He won't kill you. Just nag you so bad you wish you were dead…And make you clean the zords for a week." Conner said.

"Oh, wonderful." Ethan sighed, rolling his eyes.

---

"I think we need to split up." Eric said.

"What?" Naomi asked.

"I'll go this way and make lots of noise, make them come after me, you go that way. It'll distract them."

"Are you sure?"

"Totally, go." Eric said. Naomi nodded and the two went their separate ways.

---

Tommy was sitting in the lab, thinking about Kimberly. He couldn't believe she was here, in Reefside, and he definitely couldn't believe she had a child. _Wait, _he thought. _Trini's seven years old…Kimberly sent me the letter around the time she must've been pregnant with her. So, I guess that means that the guy in the letter is Trini's father. But, then-_ Tommy was torn from his thoughts at the sound of three sets of footsteps clamoring down the stairs into the lab. He turned to see Ethan, Conner and Kira.

"Hey guys, what's going on?" He asked.

"Dr. O, I believe Ethan has something to tell you." Kira said, nudging Ethan forward. Ethan gulped.

"Uh, Dr. O…I…….Kind of……Might've……..Taken the raptor cycle out the other night." Ethan stammered.

"What? Why?" Tommy asked.

"I met up with Naomi." Ethan said sheepishly.

"Was she being attacked?"

"Not…Exactly." Ethan said.

"What do you mean, 'not exactly'?" Tommy asked, getting the feeling he wasn't going to like this. "Was she in danger or not?"

"Well…It was…Uh…A…." Ethan began.

"Date." Conner said. Tommy's eyes widened.

"A what?"

---

Kimberly walked into Jason's room. It looked a lot like the one he had before, except the equipment monitoring him was far more advanced and probably expensive. She sat down beside him and took his hand in hers.

"Hey, Jason." She said. "Well, here we are in Reefside." She said. "You didn't think I'd let you be transferred without me, did you?" She asked with a smile. "Trini's doing all right. She and I are staying with some friends of mine. You know one of them, Carter Grayson, red Lightspeed Ranger. Speaking of fellow rangers, guess who else is here? Tommy. Trini and I saw him a few hours ago, in a grocery store. He asked me out to coffee. I accepted. I know, you're probably thinking 'well, duh'." She smiled. _That is, if you're thinking…_Kimberly thought sadly. "But, it was nice, reminded me of high school before we got together. We were both nervous, and I don't know about him, but I know I was feeling a little awkward." She said, laughing softly. She looked at Jason. He was unresponsive, the same way he's been for two years. "Jase, come on, you need to wake up." She whispered. "It's not fair, you can't die just because you were trying to help me." Tears filled her eyes. "Please." She said, sobbing softly. She held his hand up to her chin and kissed it softly. "I know you'd say it wasn't my fault, but I don't care. I _know _Tony cut your rope because you wouldn't tell him where I was. I _know _this wasn't an accident. And you need to wake up and tell me if I'm right or wrong." She sighed. "I've got to go, it's late." She got up and kissed Jason on his forehead. "I'll be back tomorrow." She promised as she left.

---

Naomi was running deeper into the woods, trying to escape Cassidy and Devin. She soon realized that she hadn't noticed her surroundings, and was now lost.

"Oh, wondef-OHHHHH!" She yelled as she fell into some sort of pit in the woods. She fell down and landed in some sort of cave or something. She got up and dusted herself off. "Ow." She muttered. She paused as she heard some indistinct voices in the distant. "Maybe they'll be able to tell me how to get out of here." She thought aloud as she walked in the direction of the voices.

---

"Of all the irresponsible, immature things to do." Tommy said to Ethan, trying to keep from being angry. There were rules to being rangers, rules that Tommy had told them, rules that several years before, Zordon had told him, and now Ethan had blatantly ignored them. It was as if Ethan was spitting on the whole ranger ideal that Zordon had created.

"I know…Dr. Oliver, I messed up." Ethan said, feeling ashamed. He sighed. "I didn't mean to."

"No, you didn't mean to get caught." Tommy said. Ethan sighed.

"OK, that too. But, ok, not that this saves my butt or anything, but Dr. O, wasn't their ever a girl in your life that you just wanted to do anything for so she'd just look your way?" He asked. Tommy sighed, of course there was. Kimberly. But that was different, Kimberly fought beside him. Nonetheless, he could relate to Ethan's plight.

"Maybe so, but Naomi isn't looking _your _way, she's looking _the blue ranger's _way." Tommy pointed out.

"Yeah, but-"

"And short of telling her who you really are, it's not going to work out the way you want it to work out." Tommy said. "And you're not going to tell her." He quickly added.

"Of course I'm not." Ethan sighed. "I just…..I mean, did you see how ecstatic she was about me…him….whatever?" Ethan asked Kira and Conner. "The fact that I made her feel that way is more then I could ask for."

"Well, all noble thoughts aside, it doesn't help your situation at all. The fact still remains that Naomi Carlton doesn't like Ethan James." Kira said.

"Besides, what are you going to do if she someday wants to kiss?" Conner asked. "Blindfold her while you take off your helmet?"

"That's not a bad idea." Ethan said.

"Ethan!" Tommy exclaimed.

"Conner, maybe your insight isn't going to help." Kira sighed. Conner rolled his eyes and stood by the wall. Kira went and stood by Tommy as the two continued barrading him.

"I don't mean to come down as the big bad dictator, but this thing with Naomi ends now." Tommy said, laying down the law. Ethan looked down. "Look, it's just going to cause you more heartache and devastation in the end. Naomi's attracted to the blue ranger."

"Gee, I didn't get that the first 100 times people said that, but now I do." Ethan grumbled. "Besides, _I am _the blue ranger."

"Yeah, you know that, we know that, but she doesn't." Conner's eyes widened at what he saw at the cave entrance to the base.

"Uh, guys, you sure about that?" He asked. Everyone turned to see what he was talking about. Tommy and Kira's breaths caught in their respective throats, Ethan's jaw nearly dropped. Standing at the entrance, with a shocked and confused look on her face, was Naomi.

"N-Naomi?" He managed to say.

"Y-Y-You're the blue ranger?" Naomi stammered out.

----

A/N: dum dum DUMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!


	13. Knight in deceptive armor

The four rangers stared at Naomi, unsure what to say or do. Tommy looked at the other three and decided to break the silence.

"Uh, Naomi, how did you get in here?" He asked. Naomi didn't respond. Her eyes were trained on Ethan. Tommy went up to her and touched her shoulder. Naomi jumped slightly, pulling her eyes from Ethan and looking at Tommy. "How did you get in here?" He asked again. Naomi blinked, staring at him for a second, trying to let his words compute.

"Eric and I split up. We were running away from Cassidy and Devin and I ended up in the woods and next thing I know, I fell through a pit. I heard voices and I thought whoever it was could help me find my way out of here." Tommy sighed and stepped back.

"I knew I should've covered up that opening in the woods."

"What do we do now?" Kira asked. Ethan went over to Naomi.

"I'll take her home." He went to take her arm. What Naomi did shocked him, and the others. She pulled her arm away from him and stepped back.

"Don't you dare touch me." She snarled. Everyone stared at her.

"What?" Ethan asked.

"You've been lying to me all along." Naomi said. "I cannot believe you."

"Naomi, I couldn-"

"All this time, this was just some joke, wasn't it?" Naomi spat out, tears coming to her eyes.

"What?" Ethan asked.

"Make the stupid girl get all groupie like as a ranger, and then hear her gush about you as your alter ego."

"No, it wasn't like that!" Ethan exclaimed. Naomi refused to look at him. "Naomi, you've got to believe me." He pleaded. He put a hand on her shoulder.

"I said don't touch me!" Naomi screamed. She brought her hand up and slapped Ethan across the face. Ethan stumbled back, holding his sore cheek. The pain wasn't what shocked him so. No, it was the fact that right now she looked more fierce and angry then he'd ever seen her. The room was so quiet, that a pin drop could be heard.

"I-I'll take her home." Conner volunteered. He looked at Tommy, who nodded, agreeing that getting her out as soon as possible was best.

"I'll go with you." Kira said. Conner and Kira began to take Naomi up the stairs, but were stopped by Tommy clearing his throat. The two rangers looked at him.

"Maybe the other cave passageway is best." He suggested, referring to the passageway the raptor cycles departed from. Naomi didn't need to know that the base was underneath her science teacher's house.

"Right." Conner said. Conner and Kira led Naomi out. Ethan watched them leave. He sighed and sat down.

"All right, go ahead, say it." Ethan said.

"Say what?" Tommy asked.

"Say 'I told you so'. Or would you rather save it for when Kira and Conner are here, make it a more public flogging?" Ethan asked. Tommy sighed and pulled a chair up beside his student-slash-fellow ranger and sat beside him.

"I'm not going to say I told you so and there isn't going to be a flogging, public or otherwise." He said. "This was an accident, and once everyone, including Naomi, calms down, we'll all discuss it."

"I can't believe she slapped me." Ethan said. "I can't believe she thinks that this was all a joke."

"I'm sure she was just shocked. I mean, it can be a little too much to find out that one of your good friends and the super hero you've been seeing are the same person." Tommy slightly joked, hoping to lighten the mood. He knew it probably wasn't going to make Naomi feel better right away when she puts two and two together and realizes her science teacher is a power ranger too.

---

The car ride was eerily quiet. Conner and Kira sat in the front and Naomi was sitting in the back, staring out the window. Every so often, Kira or Conner would glance at the mirror to see Naomi and see if she was all right. She hadn't moved or made a sound since they had gotten in the car.

"Uh, so did I mention how grateful I am for the article?" Kira said, hoping to get something out of Naomi. Naomi didn't respond. Kira sighed. Conner soon pulled up to Naomi's house. Naomi quickly exited the car and walked up to her house without saying a word.

"See ya." Conner muttered. He sighed. They watch Naomi go inside her house. "This is so not good."

"Let's just hope no one else finds out." Kira said.

---

Later that night, after Ethan left, Tommy found himself flipping Kimberly's business card in his fingers. He wanted to talk to someone. No, strike that. He wanted to talk to _her_. He sighed and picked up the telephone. "She's probably not in her office." He thought aloud. "I guess I'll leave a message on her voicemail." He dialed her number and waited for the voicemail to pickup.

"Hello?" Kimberly answered. Tommy was floored. He didn't know what to say now that she was on the line. "Hello?" She asked again. "Tony?" She asked, her voice holding something that sounded close to fear. "H-How'd you get this number?" She whispered. "I told you never to call me-"

"Kimberly, it's me." Tommy said quickly. He heard her heave a sigh.

"Oh. Tommy, I..Hi." She said. "Sorry, I-"

"No, it's my fault. I didn't expect you to answer."

"Well, this _is _my office." Kimberly said with some traces of her old playful self.

"I mean, I didn't expect you to be in your office this late." Tommy said.

"Then, why did you call?"

"I was going to leave you a message."

"Oh. Well, what's up?"

"Plenty." Tommy sighed.

"What?"

"It's…..A long story…" Tommy said. "It's late. Maybe I shouldn't have called."

"No, it's all right." Kimberly said. "Listen, I was going to head back and relieve Carter from baby-sitter duty, but how about I take you up on that non-committal coffee you mentioned earlier?" Tommy couldn't help smile a bit.

"Yeah, that'll be great." He said.

"Okay. Well, how about you come over here, there's a little coffee shop within walking distance of the hospital."

"All right, I'll be there in fifteen minutes." He said.

"Should I expect you in an hour?" She joked, referring to his lack of punctuality when they were teenagers.

"Hey, I'm a teacher now, my punctuality is immaculate." He responded. Kimberly giggled.

"We'll see. I'll see you in a bit." She said. They both hung up. About ten minutes later, Tommy arrived at the hospital. He walked in. There was an older plumb woman behind the triage desk.

"May I help you, sir?" She asked.

"I'm just waiting for someone." He responded. He sat down. A few seconds later he saw Kimberly walking in to the waiting area. Her hair was up in a bun and she was wearing a white doctor's coat. She smiled when she saw Tommy.

"Hey." She said. She walked over to him. "You're on time. Early actually. Color me surprised." She smiled. Tommy grinned. He stood up.

"Ready to go?" He asked. Kimberly nodded. The two walked out and went to the coffee shop. They got a booth in the back and sat down.

"So, how have you been?" Kimberly asked once they were settled in. "Last I heard you were off on some island being all scientific."

"I've been all right." Tommy said, not sure whether or not it was the right time to lay all the cards on the table. "Yourself?"

"About the same." She said. The two fell into a bit of an awkward silence. "We're both a bunch of bullshitters." She said. Tommy looked at her.

"What?"

"We're giving such plain answered to each other. You'd think we were just some strangers or something."

"Well, we haven't seen each other for the better part of a decade." Tommy pointed out.

"Does that mean the atmosphere has to be so artic?" Kimberly replied. Tommy sighed as a waitress came by and filled their coffee mugs.

"I'm not being artic." Tommy said. He put some sugar and cream into his coffee. Kimberly put some sugar in hers. "You drink your coffee black? Isn't all that caffeine going to make you jittery?"

"I'm a doctor who's had to be up late many a nights in delivery room. I think coffee has lost all jittery like affect one me."

"You look well rested enough." Tommy said. Kimberly gave a sarcastic smile.

"Being a pretentious valley girl as a teenager has its perks-I know how to dab on the make-up."

"You weren't pretentious." Tommy said. Kimberly simply shrugged.

"If you say so." She said. "Now, enough about me, let's talk about you. I know there's something you're not telling me."

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"You're hiding something." She said. Tommy took a sip of his coffee.

"I'm not." He said. "Besides, I don't think we've reacquainted ourselves enough yet to spill the beans."

"But you admit there are beans to be spilled?"

"Maybe. I'm sure you've got some of your own."

"Nope." Kimberly said. She took a sip of her coffee.

"Who's Tony?" He asked. Kimberly choked on her coffee and let it fall back into the cup. She set the cup down and wiped her mouth with a napkin.

"No one you should concern yourself with." She finally said.

"Well, you sounded pretty upset when you thought I was him on the phone. So maybe I should be concerned." Tommy countered.

"You know what, you're right. We haven't reacquainted ourselves enough yet." She said. Tommy stared at her. He leaned in.

"Fine, you want me to spill my beans?" He asked. Kimberly waited for him to continue. "What if I was to tell you that I have picked up an old occupation of ours?" He asked. Kimberly stared at him, confused for a bit, and then gasped softly as it dawned at her.

"You don't mean-" Tommy cut her off with a nod.

"I've dusted off the old spandex, in a different color of course." He said. Kimberly stared at him for a second.

"Black?" She asked.

"How'd you know?"

"Hello, I was one too. I remember the strange impulse to wear clothing that was the same color. It took me months to get out of the pink phase when I went to Florida. So, what is this, fourth color you've got under your belt?" She paused for a second. "Let's see, green white, red, black." She thought aloud. "Fourth."

"What can I say? I've seen my fare share of ranger duties." He said.

"I think Adam comes a close second with two."

"Well, he and Jason are tied." Tommy pointed out. Kimberly's joking tone and expression left at the mention of Jason. "Something wrong?" He asked. Kimberly was silent for a while. "Kim?" He asked.

"It's nothing." She said.

"Liar." He said. "Beautiful, I know you. I know something's wrong." The sentence slipped out without thought, and the use of his old nickname for her caused Kimberly's head to snap up.

"Wow. I just remembered how much I loved it when you'd call me that." Kimberly said softly. Tommy reached across the table and took her hands in his.

"I remembered how much I loved calling you that." He said, staring into her eyes. Kimberly blinked.

"Well, I think your Kim-dar is off, nothing's wrong." She said.

"Well, I spilled the beans, so it's only fair you do the same." He said. Kimberly seemed to get a little anxious.

"Not now, okay?" She asked a desperate pleading tone in her voice. "I'll tell you, just not yet." Tommy realized that if he tried to push the issue any further, it would only result in Kimberly totally shutting him out. He patted her hand with his other hand softly.

"Okay." He said soothingly. "I can wait its okay." He released her hand and the two continued drinking their coffee.

"So, what's it like being in uniform again?" Kimberly asked. Tommy sighed.

"It's weird when you're the oldest one there."

"What? Don't tell me…Teenagers?"

"Oh, even better, some of my own students." Tommy said. Kimberly covered her mouth to keep from laughing. "I'm beginning to pity Zordon and Alpha for having to deal with all of us and our teenage drama."

"You're seeing a fair share of that?" Kimberly asked.

"Two of them are seeing each other, and the other one…Well, it's not good."

"What do you mean?"

"Imagine what would have happened if Zack tried to woo Angela as the black ranger. Now imagine us and Zordon finding out. Now imagine Angela stumbling onto the command center, finding out about Zack, and not being too happy about it."

"You're saying one of the rangers broke one of Zordon's cardinal rules of ranger-dom?"

"He took one of the vehicles out and gave her a romantic moonlit ride."

"Oh boy." Kimberly said. "So this girl found your base of operations?"

"Accidentally." Tommy said. "She slapped him."

"Ohh." Kimberly winced.

"It seems that she thinks it was all a joke."

"You think she'll tell anyone?" Kimberly asked. Tommy thought for a second.

"I don't think so. But maybe that's just me being a wishful thinker."

"I'm sure everything will turn out all right."

"I hope so." Tommy sighed. Kimberly looked at her watch.

"Oh, gosh, it is really late. I should get back. Trini's probably worried." She went to pull out her wallet.

"I've got it." He said. Kimberly looked at him.

"Are you sure?" She asked. Tommy nodded. He picked up the check and the two walked back to the hospital. Tommy walked Kimberly to her car. "Well, it was nice seeing you again." She said.

"Yeah, I'm glad I called you."

"So am I." Kimberly said. She stared at him. Maybe it was force of habit from when they were younger, or maybe it was the feelings she still had for him, but something made her lean up to him and kiss him on the lips in the soft, timid way they did back then. Once it ended, Tommy stared at her. "Goodnight, Tommy." She said.

"Uh..Yeah, goodnight." He said. Kimberly got in her car and drove off, shocked by her own actions. Tommy couldn't help the corners of his mouth turning up in a lovesick smile. "I guess that answers the question as to whether I have a chance with her still." He muttered. He went to his car.

----

Saturday morning found Kimberly in bed. She and Trini shared the queen sized bed in the guesthouse. Carter had offered to put a cot or something in the room, but Kimberly said she and Trini didn't mind. The first few years of Trini's life, she and her mother had to share a full size bed. They lived in a tiny apartment in a not so great part of town as Kimberly was busy juggling working as a waitress at a family restaurant and medical school. After she graduated and got a residency, the two of them moved up in the world of course. Kimberly was able to buy a nice cozy house where Trini even had her own room. At the moment, the mother and daughter were sleeping peacefully in the bed. Both were lying on their sides. Trini was huddled in Kimberly's arms and had her head against her chest. A gentle knock on the door took Kimberly out of her slumber. It wasn't enough to wake Trini, but after waking up for late night feedings when Trini was a baby and listening for her beeper to go off if she had to do a late night delivery, Kimberly had trained herself to wake up at the slightest noise. She slowly eased Trini out of her arms and tucked the blankets around her. She adjusted the pants of her pajamas and the top as well as she walked over to the door. She opened it and was surprised to see Tommy standing there.

"Tommy, wow, this is a surprise." She said. Tommy gave her that trademark smile of his. The one that made her swoon for him the first day they met, when he chased Bulk and Skull off. "Are you stalking me?" She joked. Tommy laughed.

"No, no, of course not. You mentioned you were staying with Carter and Dana, and since he and I have kept in touch, I just knew where to find you."

"Mmm-hmmm, a likely response." She smiled. She stepped aside to let him in. "You can come in, just be quiet, Trini's still sleeping." Kimberly whispered as Tommy stepped in.

"No, I'm not." Came Trini's voice. Kimberly spun around to see Trini sitting up in bed.

"Oh, I'm sorry, did I wake you?" Tommy asked. Trini shook her head.

"I just wasn't sleepy anymore." Kimberly smiled and sat beside her.

"Well, missy, do you want some cereal?" She asked. Trini smiled and nodded. "OK, but you know what you've got to do first, right?" Trini jumped and threw her arms around her mother and gave her a big kiss on the cheek.

"Good morning mommy." She said. Kimberly smiled and hugged her.

"Well, I actually meant, go brush your teeth." She said. Trini sighed and climbed off the bed. "Scoot." Kimberly said as Trini scurried to the bathroom. Kimberly smiled and turned to Tommy. "So, what brings you here?" She asked. She stood up and went to the kitchen alcove. She got out a bowl and grabbed the cereal from the cupboard. "Can you pass me the milk?" She asked. Tommy went into the fridge and got the milk. He placed it on the table. "Thanks." She said. Kimberly poured the cereal and the milk in the bowl and set it by one of the chairs.

"I wanted to see an old friend and her daughter. Is that a crime?" He asked. Kimberly smiled.

"No, it's not." She said. Trini came back from the bathroom. Kimberly kneeled before her. "Let me see your teeth." She said. Trini gave a wide grin, displaying all of her teeth. Kimberly inspected them. "All right." She said. She kissed Trini's forehead and got back up. Trini climbed up into the chair and began happily munching on her cereal. Kimberly went back to the bed and began straightening it up. Tommy followed her. "So, have you been able to fix that problem you told me about last night?" She asked Tommy. He shook his head.

"No," he said. "I think its best if we all leave her alone for a while, let her think about stuff."

"You're just stalling because you don't know what to say." Kimberly pointed out with a smirk. Tommy chuckled.

"Okay, that too. Maybe by Monday morning, she'll have calmed down and my team and I will be able to figure out what to do."

"Speaking of your team," Kimberly said as she pulled the comforter up which had fallen on the floor while she and Trini were sleeping. "Will I be able to meet them?" She asked. "I mean, you know, get to know the folks that fight alongside my friend and all."

"I guess, I don't see how that would be a problem." Tommy replied. Kimberly finished making the bed and looked at him.

"Good. I'm eager to meet them. Pass on my knowledge in the career they currently have." Kimberly smiled. Tommy couldn't help return the gesture.

"Mommy, all done." Trini announced. Kimberly went and put the bowl in the sink.

"OK, baby, I want you to go get dressed. I need you to spend the day with Auntie Dana. Mommy needs to work and meet with new patients." Kimberly said. Trini pouted.

"But, mommy, can't I go with you? Auntie Dana's boring. She just lies in bed and says stuff about her fat feet."

"Katrina Aisha Hart, don't say that about your aunt." Kimberly chastised. "And I'm sorry sweetie, but mommy has to work." She kneeled down before her daughter. "And do you remember what happened the last time I took you to work with me?" She asked. Trini sighed. "Come on, what happened?"

"I don't want to say." Trini said, feeling a little ashamed.

"You wandered off and had me very worried. I had to get five orderlies to find you." Kimberly said. Trini still pouted. Kimberly sighed. "Okay, how about we make a deal? If you stop pouting and be a good girl for Auntie Dana, I'll take you out for ice cream when I get back." Trini's face instantly broke out into a huge smile. "I thought that would get your attention." Kimberly smiled.

"Can I get a sundae?" Trini asked, already excited about the idea.

"We'll see. Now, go get dressed." She said. Trini ran and grabbed the clothes Kimberly had laid out for her the night before and went to the bathroom. Kimberly stood back up and looked at Tommy, who had a smile on his face. "What?" She asked.

"Nothing, it's just," he said.

"It's just what?" Kimberly asked.

"It's just nice to see you like this. You've always been a caring and nurturing person. When we were younger, I always thought you'd make a great mother for our kids someday." He said. He stopped, realizing what he had just said.

"You imagined us having kids someday?" Kimberly asked, feeling a little awkward.

"Well, yeah…I mean, we were together for a long time, I guess my mind would wander to the future sometimes." He said. The two fell into an uncomfortable silence.

"Listen, Tommy, about last night, I-"

"Mommy, can you put my hair in pig tails?" Trini asked as she came out from the bathroom dressed in an overall dress with flowers on the chest and a white shirt under it. She also wore white socks that had the frilly material by the ankles. Kimberly looked at her.

"Sure. Go get the brush. It's in my bag." Kimberly said. Part of her was relieved that Trini came out right then. She wasn't sure if she could really explain the kiss. She walked over to the bathroom and waited for Trini to join her. Trini came and handed her the brush. Kimberly began brushing her daughter's hair. After a little while, she put her hair in the desired style. "All right, all done." She said. Trini left and sat down by the door as she got her shoes on. Kimberly went to her bag and pulled out a shirt and jeans. She looked at Tommy. "I'll be right back." She said. She retreated to the bathroom. Tommy stood by and watched Trini struggle with tying her laces. She groaned and kept trying. Tommy went over to her.

"You want some help?" He asked.

"Uh huh." She said.

"All right, then." He said. He picked her up off the ground and put her on one of the chairs by the dining table. He kneeled before her and tied her shoes slowly, making sure she saw how he did it. "First you make a knot like this," he said, demonstrating it. "Then you make a loop like this," at that moment, Kimberly came out of the bathroom, putting her hair in a ponytail and stopped at the sight. "Then you take this part and wrap it around the loop. And you make it into a loop, and you make a knot. See?" He asked.

"Yeah." Trini said.

"You want to try the other shoe?" He asked. Trini nodded. She lifted her foot up and did exactly what he had just said.

"There's the knot.." She began. The rest of her words were lost on Kimberly as she became submerged in her own thoughts. The truth was, she did think about having a child with Tommy when they were younger. And now, those thoughts were returning. He barely knew Trini yet Kimberly was sensing a warm, gentle tone as he sat with her. "All done!" Trini exclaimed, pulling Kimberly out of her revere.

"Excellent." Tommy said. "High five." He said, putting his hand up. Trini giggled as she did so. Kimberly walked over.

"Having fun?" She asked.

"Yeah, mommy. He taught me how to tie my shoes."

"That's great sweetie." Kimberly took Trini's hand as she hoped off the chair. She looked at Tommy. "I'll be right back." She said. Tommy nodded. Kimberly and Trini left. Tommy sat down and waited for Kimberly to get back. A couple of minutes passed and she came back in.

"I should've called or something." Tommy said. "I didn't know you were working today."

"I'm not." Kimberly said. Tommy gave her a confused look. Kimberly sighed and threw her hands up.

"OK, I'm a terrible mother. I lied to have a day to myself." She said.

"You want me to go?" He asked. Kimberly shook her head.

"No, it's okay." She said.

"Do you want to go somewhere or something?" He asked. "There's this place downtown that a friend of mine owns. You'd like her."

"Oh. Girlfriend?" Kimberly asked, suddenly feeling a little guilty about the kiss. Tommy chuckled and shook his head.

"No, no. We met in grad school. It was a symbiotic friendship. I helped her with science and she helped me with computers."

"Ah." Kimberly said.

"So, my jeep's parked outside." He said.

"Right, let me just get my purse." She said. She went and grabbed and walked back to Tommy, slinging it over her shoulder. "Okay, let's go." She said. Tommy nodded and the two left.

----

Ethan, Kira, Conner and Eric were sitting in Cyberspace. Ethan looked completely miserable, Conner and Kira looked worried about him and Eric looked confused.

"So, is anyone going to let me in on what's up with him?" Eric asked, jutting his thumb to Ethan. Ethan just lowered his head to his arms which were folded on the table.

"He's worried about a paper for English class." Kira said, covering up the truth.

"Oh." Eric said, accepting the lie. He put a comforting hand on Ethan's shoulder. "Don't fret, my man. I'm sure it'll be fine." He said. The front door of the café opened up. Ethan's head shot up at the sound and groaned. He had wished it was Naomi, but it was just Dr. Oliver and some woman. He seemed to look around until he saw them. He whispered something to the woman and the two headed over to the table.

"Hey guys." Tommy said. Ethan sighed and put his head down again.

"Dude, our teacher showing up at the hangout…That's a little freaky." Eric said. Tommy chuckled, the woman beside him giggled softly.

"Hey, Dr. O, would you guys care to join us?" Conner asked.

"Thanks." Tommy said. He pulled two chairs from an empty table. They sat down. "Oh, sorry, guys, this is an old friend of mine, Kimberly." He said, introducing her to the others. "Kimberly, this is Conner, his twin brother Eric, Kira and Ethan." He said.

"It's nice to meet you all." Kimberly smiled. She looked at Ethan and then back at Tommy. The two shared a look which was lost on the others. Eric looked at his watch.

"Oh, man, I have to go. Mom wants to take me shopping for new clothes; I'm supposed to meet her at the mall in half an hour." He said, getting up to his feet.

"Good luck man." Conner snickered. Eric sighed. He turned to Kimberly.

"It was nice meeting you." He said.

"Same here." She smiled. Eric walked out. Kimberly turned and stopped, seeing Kira was staring at her. "Do I have something on my face?" She asked. Kira blinked.

"Huh? Oh, no. I'm sorry. You just look really familiar." She said. Tommy laughed slightly.

"Guys, I'd like you to meet the original pink ranger." Tommy said in a hushed voice.

"Seriously? Whoa." Conner said. Kimberly couldn't help giggle again.

"Let me guess." She said, looking at them. "Conner, red. Kira, yellow. And the boy slumped over is blue." She said, going by the colors they were wearing.

"Give the lady a prize." Ethan said sarcastically. Tommy looked at Ethan. He would've normally chastised the boy for being rude, but seeing as what was going on, he decided to let it pass.

"So, I guess no one's heard from Naomi." Tommy said. As if on cue, the door opened and in walked Naomi.

"Speak of the devil." Conner said. Naomi saw them all sitting there, with expectant looks on their faces. She took a deep breath and walked past them to the counter. Haley looked at her.

"Hey, Haley." Naomi said. "Can I get a mint mocha smoothie, to go." She said. Haley looked at the others and then back at Naomi.

"Sure." She said. She went and began to prepare the drink.

"I'm going to go talk to her." Ethan said, getting up to her feet. Conner put a hand to his arm.

"I don't recommend that." He said.

"Conner's right, she needs some space right now." Kira said. Nearby, Trent was watching what was going on and struggled to hide the smirk. _Apparently the power losers little friend is mad at them. This could work to my advantage. _He thought to himself. Naomi waited for Haley to finish making the drink. She was beginning to get a little anxious. She didn't want to talk to the others.

"I have to talk to her." Ethan said, shaking Conner's hand off him. He went up to her just as Haley handed her the drink.

"Thanks." Naomi said, paying her. She turned to leave and stopped short, seeing Ethan right there.

"Naomi, hey." He said. "Can we talk?" He asked.

"I have to go." She said, not even looking at him.

"Naomi, please."

"Get out of my way." She said.

"Naomi, look, I know that things seemed a little-" Ethan tried to say, but was cut off by Naomi shoving past him. Ethan turned and gently grabbed her arm. While all of this was going on, Trent was slowly inching himself closer to the area of the two. He now stood at the counter. Naomi spun around and splashed her drink in Ethan's face.

"Don't ever touch me again!" She screamed. Ethan coughed, shocked and having to deal with smoothie in his nose and mouth. He blinked and looked at Naomi. "Let go." She said. Everyone in the café was staring at them. Trent decided this was his time to swoop in. He came over and pulled Ethan away from Naomi.

"You heard the lady." He said gruffly, pushing Ethan towards the counter. He turned to Naomi. "You all right?" He asked, his face sincere and soft. Naomi nodded. She looked pretty shaken up. She turned and ran out of the café. Ethan glared at Trent. Haley grabbed his shoulder to keep him from doing anything stupid.

"Here." She said, handing him a dishtowel. Ethan sighed and wiped his face.

"Maybe today wasn't a good day for you to meet the team." Tommy muttered to Kimberly, who was just shocked by everything that had just happened.

"I think you're right." She replied.

---

Author's note from Becky: Sorry for the mega-length of this chapter. Just couldn't stop writing, LOL.


	14. Delicately Made

Quickie note from Becky: The song Naomi listens to in this chapter is not owned by me or teal. It's Delicately Made by Eric Himan

---

After what happened with Naomi and Trent, Kira and Conner thought it best to take Ethan home. He was in such a miserable and angry state that they didn't want to find out what he could do. Kimberly and Tommy were alone. Haley walked over to them.

"Hey, guys. Do you need anything?" She asked.

"No, thanks." Tommy said. "Oh, by the way, Haley this is-"

"Kimberly." Haley smiled. Tommy stared at her, shocked she knew. "Hello, you only talked about her every five seconds while we were in school." Tommy looked away, embarrassed, as did Kimberly. "And plus, I did see the video diary."

"Video diary?" Kimberly asked, confused.

"It's this thing I made in case anything happened to me. It was basically Ranger History 101." Tommy said.

"And what exactly happened to you that caused it to be seen?" Kimberly asked.

"He got captured by the big evil." Haley said.

"Oh. So just a normal day, huh?" Kimberly joked. Tommy glared at her.

"Hey, I don't know what you're talking about. If I recall, you're the one who got captured the most." He said, returning the joke.

"You must be mistaken." Kimberly said in a pretend haughty tone. "I was never captured."

"Oh yeah, right." Tommy said, rolling his eyes. "Shall I present you with a list of times you've been captured? I'll need to clear out a week to put it together." Kimberly smacked his arm.

"Whatever." Kimberly said. She looked at Tommy. "So, we've achieved our goal. I met your team and Haley, what now?" She asked.

"I don't know. Anything you want to do." He asked. Kimberly looked down, her happy fun-loving aura disappearing. "Kim? Are you okay?" He asked. Kimberly nodded.

"Uh huh, yeah, I'm fine." She said. "Can we get out of here?" She asked. Tommy nodded. They got up. Tommy waved goodbye to Haley and the two walked out. "Is it all right if we stop by the hospital?" Kimberly asked.

"I thought you said you didn't have to work today." Tommy said.

"I don't. I just need to check on something." She said. Tommy nodded.

"OK, sure." They got in his jeep and drove to the hospital. They walked into the hospital where an Asian woman who looked about their age was sitting behind the triage desk.

"Hello, Dr. Hart." She said. "I didn't know you were on today."

"I'm not, Min. I just wanted to check on-" Kimberly began. Min cut her off with a nod.

"Go right in." She said.

"Thanks. Oh, he's with me." She said, pointing to Tommy. Min made a face.

"Dr. Hart, I can let you in because, well, you're staff, but I don't think he can go in, it's not visiting hours yet."

"Don't worry, if anyone says anything, I'll take all the blame." Kimberly smiled. Min seemed to let out a sigh of relief.

"Thanks." She said. Kimberly walked past the desk and Tommy followed.

"Kim, I could've waited for you. I don't want you to get in trouble." He said as they walked down the hallway. They entered the ICU unit and then walked deeper into it. She led him into the coma ward. She stopped right outside a room. She turned and looked at Tommy.

"There's something I think you need to see. Well, some_one_ actually." She said softly. Tommy looked at her with a puzzled expression on his face. Kimberly took a deep breath and opened the door. Tommy looked into the room and felt his heart stop.

"J-Jason?" He sputtered out. He quickly went into the room and sat beside his friend. The last time he had seen him it was when they and other red rangers fought the Machine Empire. Jason was laughing, joking, just generally full of life. Now…….He was just lying on a hospital bed with all sorts of IVs and monitors hooked into him. Kimberly stood by the door. "How-How long has he..?" He asked, his voice trailing off.

"Two years." Kimberly said softly. She walked fully into the room and shut the door behind her. "It happened a few weeks after that red ranger get-together." Tommy could feel tears forming in his eyes.

"How did it happen?" He asked. Kimberly looked down, trying to decide what version of the story to tell him. The full story, or the abridged version. She decided the full story could wait.

"He was rock climbing and the rope broke." She said softly. "He's the reason I'm in Reefside." She said. "He was transferred here because of the advanced neurological unit, and I didn't want to be away from him, so I put in for a transfer." Kimberly pulled a chair over and sat beside Tommy, who was just staring at Jason.

"Wait, they transferred him for the experts here, does that mean they think he's getting worse?" Tommy asked, his tone desperate and worried.

"No. The fact of the matter is that it's been two years and there hasn't been any change." Kimberly said. She put a hand on his shoulder. "It's okay to cry. I come and see him everyday, and I still bawl like a baby every time." She said. Tommy closed his eyes as tears slid down his eyes. Kimberly pulled him closer to her as he put his head on her shoulder. Kimberly took Jason's hand with her free hand and silently cried. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner." She whispered to Tommy. Tommy wrapped his arms around her waist and buried his face in her shoulder fully. Kimberly removed her hand from his shoulder and placed it on the back of his head. She began to gently scratch his scalp in a comforting manner. After a while, they both calmed down a bit and sat up.

"So," Tommy said, wiping his cheeks. "Is that whole thing of talking to coma patients and they can hear you true?" He asked. Kimberly shrugged.

"I'm not sure. But, my theory is it's best to talk to 'em, just be safe." She said, trying to make him smile. Tommy smiled softly.

"So, you talk to him everyday?" Tommy asked. Kimberly nodded.

"But, I think he's getting tired of me. How about you talk to him?" She asked. Tommy took a deep breath and looked at Jason.

"I….I don't know how to start." He said.

"Just talk to him, like you would if he was awake and everything was all right." Kimberly said. Tommy looked at her, then back at Jason.

"Hey, bro." Tommy said. "So, uh, how have you-" Tommy cut himself off. "I can't do it." He said with a sigh. Kimberly put her arm around Tommy's shoulder.

"It's ok." She said. "It can be really hard at first." She sighed. "You want to get out of here?" She asked, realizing this was very hard for him. Tommy nodded. The two left the room and hospital. Once outside, Tommy leaned against the wall, taking in several deep breaths as if he had been drowning. Kimberly stood in front of him.

"I'm such a jerk. One of my best friends is lying in a coma and I can't even bring myself to talk to him." Tommy said. Kimberly stepped closer to him and put her hands on either side of his face, making him look at her.

"Hey, hey, don't beat yourself up about that." She said. "I totally threw you off by bringing you here. You were shocked, upset, and probably a whole lot of other emotions. It's ok. I'm sure Jason understands." She said.

"Are you sure?" Tommy asked.

"Positive." She said. Tommy stared into her eyes. He had meant to ask her about that kiss the night before, but at the moment, all he could think about was an encore. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close, crushing their bodies together. Kimberly's hands left his face and rested on his shoulders. She looked at him, wondering what he was going to do. That question was soon answered when he dove in and captured her lips in kiss that was nothing like they've done before. Tommy's tongue gently probed her mouth as his lips gently sucked on her lower lip. Kimberly was shocked, but soon found herself responding to the kiss. Her tongue slid against his tongue. Tommy held her to him even closer. Kimberly moaned, but of course, it was muffled by Tommy's mouth. Kimberly held him close. The two seemed to almost melt together. Kimberly would've gladly stayed in his arms forever, but her mind cleared when she thought of Trini, Jason, and most of all, Tony. She forced herself to pull her lips away from his. Tommy looked at her. The two panted to catch their breath as they still stood in each other's embrace. Kimberly rested her forehead against his. "I'm sorry." She whispered. "I can't do this." She stepped out of his embrace. "I should go." She said, wanting to get away from him.

"I drove you here." Tommy pointed out.

"I'll call a cab." Kimberly countered. Tommy stood up straight and looked at her.

"Kim, what's wrong?" He asked. Kimberly looked away.

"I can't go back to how we used to be. Too many things have happened. We've both changed."

"But…I thought…I mean, you kissed me last night." Tommy said, confused by her sudden change of attitude. Kimberly sighed.

"I know, I know. It was a mistake." She said. Tommy winced. He felt like he had just been sucker punched.

"A m-mistake?" He asked.

"I guess I just fell back into old habits. When we were younger, we'd kiss like that all the time."

"So, because this wasn't as innocent, you freak out?" Tommy asked.

"I'm not freaking out. I just think you've gotten the wrong idea." Kimberly said. "I think we should just be friends." Kimberly had to force herself to say it. The truth was, she did still have romantic feelings for Tommy. But she was afraid. She was afraid for him. Tony put Jason in a coma because he was helping her, she didn't want to know what he'd do to Tommy if he ever found out. Tommy looked like he didn't like that idea, but he sighed and decided not to push it.

"Okay. I'm sorry." He said. Something was nagging in his brain. She did kiss him back, so why was she now acting like she felt nothing for him? He figured she'd tell him when the time was right. "I'll give you a ride back." He said. The two walked to his jeep.

---

Naomi was lying on her bed, listening to one of her CDs on a volume level that was pretty close to full blast. She didn't know what she was feeling. Everything just seemed to mesh together into one negative emotion. She felt angry, sad, betrayed, furious, and depressed. All those emotions simply caused her to just curl up in her bed and listen to sad music. She sighed and shifted her head on her pillow as she let the words of the song drift through her senses.

_**These vulnerable sentiments  
I'm reluctant to say  
because my heart  
is delicately made**_

_**Not enough energy  
Crazy never-ending days  
Leaving me motionless  
Leading me astray**_

_**This shall pass (so make me bend)  
This shall pass (so make me laugh)  
This shall pass (bring me home)  
But how fast and when?**_

_**Fear invites doubt  
Doubt harbors fear  
I anticipate reward  
Of a road unclear**_

There was a knock on her bedroom door. She sighed and simply ignored it.

_**Lessons in futility  
Making me bolder  
Repeating my serenity  
Three times over**_

_**This shall pass (so make me bend)  
This shall pass (so make me laugh)  
This shall pass (bring me home)  
But how fast and...**_

_**When will all this hard work pay off?  
Will the end justify the cost?  
Of what I've lost,**_

The door opened.

"Naomi," came her mother's voice. She sighed and went over and lowered the volume a bit. She looked at her daughter. "Are you all right?" She asked.

"Yeah, mom, I'm fine." Came the automatic response from Naomi. Mrs. Carlton sighed.

"Well, there's a boy at the door. Said he wants to talk to you." She said. Naomi rolled her eyes. _You don't give up, do you Ethan? _She thought to herself.

"Tell him to go away." Naomi said.

_**When will all this hard work pay off?  
Will the end justify the cost?  
Of what I've lost, **_

_**When will all this hard work pay off?  
Will the end justify the cost?  
Of what I've lost, **_

"Why don't you come down and tell him yourself? Naomi, you've been lying up in your bed, so, come downstairs."

"Mom." Naomi groaned.

"I mean it." Her mother said. Naomi sighed.

_**These vulnerable sentiments  
I'm reluctant to say  
Because my heart  
Is delicately made**_

After the song ended, Naomi got up and went out the room. Mrs. Carlton shut off her stereo. Naomi walked down the stairs, ready to give Ethan a piece of her mind.

"He's outside." Her mother told her. Naomi clenched her fist and angrily pulled the door open.

"I thought I told you to leave me the hell alo..Trent?" Naomi was shocked that it wasn't Ethan standing there, it was Trent. He was holding up a styraphome cup from Haley's.

"Hey." He said. "I, uh, brought you a smoothie, seeing as what happened to the one you paid for." He said with a smile. Naomi smiled softly. She stepped out of the door and let it close behind her.

"You didn't have to do that." She said.

"I know. But I wanted to." He said. Naomi walked over and sat on the porch swing. Trent sat beside her. He handed her the drink.

"Thanks." She said.

"No problem. So, are you okay?" Trent asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Naomi said.

"Are you sure? You looked pretty upset at the café."

"What gave you the hint I was upset?" Naomi asked in a sarcastic tone. "Me yelling at Ethan, or me throwing my drink in his face?" Trent chuckled.

"Both. I was a little surprised to see it happen. I mean, I thought you were friends with Ethan and the others."

"Yeah, I _was_." Naomi said.

"What happened, if you don't mind me asking?" Trent asked. Naomi looked at him. She was so upset with Ethan, she wanted to be petty and mean and tell Trent. But deep down, she knew she couldn't do that. She sighed.

"We just didn't see eye to eye about some things." Naomi said. _Yeah, he thought it was all right to trick me and make me fall for him as the blue ranger so he could have a good laugh about it, and I didn't exactly like it. _She thought. "Anyway, why are you so suddenly concerned about me? Before today, you barely said a complete sentence to me." Trent sighed.

"All right, I guess I go by the school of thought that a person is judged by the company they keep."

"And you're not a fan of the company I keep. Or, well, kept." Naomi concluded, understanding what he meant. "What's your deal with Conner anyway?" She asked. "When I first started at Reefside High, I thought you guys were friends."

"We were." Trent said. He sighed. "I used to like Kira. And he knew it. He told me he liked someone else and then a little while later he's with Kira. I guess it just bugged me that he stabbed me in the back like that."

"Oh. Well, by the way you've been acting, one would think you still like her." Naomi pointed out. Trent smirked.

"Ok, I guess I'm one to hold onto grudges. Besides, I like someone else now." He said, giving Naomi a look that said 'and you know who she is.' Naomi gave a small nervous laugh and looked down.

"Oh. Uh, by the way, thanks for the smoothie." She said. She took a sip of it.

"You already thanked me." Trent said. Naomi looked at him.

"Oh, I did, didn't I?" She said, giving another nervous laugh. Trent smirked. _Oh, this is just too easy. _He thought.

"So, you have any plans for tomorrow?" He asked.

"Yeah, wallowing in self-pity." Naomi said. Trent chuckled.

"Well, if you have any free time there, how about you and I hang out?"

"I don't know if we should. I mean, you don't like my friends…..It could be awkward."

"Don't you mean _former _friends?"

"Oh..Yeah, good point. Still, I just want to be alone for now. Thanks, anyway." She stood up. "I'll see you in school on Monday." She said as she got up and went back inside. Trent's smile faded and turned into a scowl. _Apparently she's still hung up on those losers. Maybe it's not going to be as easy as I thought. _

---

After Tommy dropped her off at Carter and Dana's, she went to pick up Trini at the main house. She knocked on the door. After a few minutes it opened to reveal Dana.

"Hey." She said. "Come in." She stepped aside to let her in.

"Hey. Did Trini behave herself?" Kimberly asked. Dana nodded.

"She's actually taking a nap." Dana said, gesturing her head to indicate that Trini was in her bedroom. "She told me Tommy came by." Kimberly nearly cringed. She knew Dana was about to bug her for all the details. "Sit." Dana said, pointing to the couch. Kimberly sighed and sat down. Dana waddled over and sat beside her. She looked at Kimberly, waiting for her to talk. "Oh, and remember, I know you didn't have to work today."

"So why were you willing to watch Trini?" Kimberly asked. Dana shrugged.

"Parental practice." She said. Kimberly laughed. "So, what happened?"

"He took me to this place…uh……..Cyberspace."

"Oh yeah, that teen hangout downtown. Aren't the smoothies there fantastic?" She asked.

"I don't know, I didn't have one."

"Oh. I've sent Carter there a couple of times to get me some. The wheatgrass and strawberry smoothies are to die for." Dana said. Kimberly made a face.

"Please tell me you had those two separately." Kimberly said.

"No, just together in one delicious smoothie." Dana grinned. Kimberly shuddered. "What? I'm pregnant."

"Yeah, I get that. I mean, I had cravings when I was pregnant with Trini, but still….yuck." Kimberly said.

"Oh, bite me." Dana said. Kimberly laughed. "Anyway, what else happened?" Kimberly's smile slowly faded.

"I took him to see Jason." Kimberly said. Dana winced, just imagining how much it must've wrecked him to see Jason like that.

"I never saw those two, but according to Carter, at the red ranger reunion, they were super close."

"They were the closet of friends when we were all in high school. I mean, Jason's the one who got Tommy to join us after the evil spell was broken." Kimberly said, reminiscing slightly. Dana grinned.

"Somehow, I think he joined up for other reasons." She said. Kimberly looked at her.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Hello! He wanted to be working side by side with you. I've never met the guy, but even I know that." Dana said. Kimberly looked away. "What? Did something happen?"

"I……..I don't know………I mean…"

"What?" Dana insisted.

"OK, last night, before I left to come back here and get Trini, I sort of……Kissed him." Kimberly said. Dana's eyes widened. "It was just a peck! Anyway, today after we left the hospital, he kissed me……And it was so not just a peck."

"So…What happened?"

"I kind of, sort of, might have kissed him back." Kimberly forced out, her face as red as a tomato. Dana grinned.

"That's my girl!"

"Hey, hey, hey. Don't go planning the wedding shower or anything. I told him we should just be friends." Kimberly said. Dana frowned.

"Oh." She said. After a few seconds, she reached over and smacked Kimberly upside the head.

"Oww!" Kimberly shrieked. "What the heck was that for?"

"I was trying to smack some sense into you." Dana said. Kimberly rolled her eyes as she gingerly rubbed her head. "You know and I know you want to be much, much more then friends."

"That's not true."

"Oh, puh-lease." Dana said. "You so want to do the-"

"Dana!" Kimberly yelled, cutting her off.

"I was just going to say laundry with him." Dana said, innocently. "That is, his sheets after a very, very fun night." Dana said with a wicked grin.

"Okay, what the heck happened to the sweet and demure Dana I knew in med school?" Kimberly asked.

"She got pregnant, and hasn't had any in a month. So, she needs to live vicariously through her best friend."

"Well, find a new best friend to get your vicarious lovin' from." Kimberly said. "I can't get close to Tommy like that."

"And why not?" Dana asked. Kimberly sighed. Dana frowned when she realized what was wrong. "Is this about Tony?" Dana asked. "Kimberly, you can't let this guy dictate your life."

"I'm not. It's just that…..I mean look at what he did to Jason for being my best friend….I don't even want to think about what he would do to Tommy."

"Kim, there's no proof that Tony put Jason in that coma."

"Yes there is. He said it. That night that he called me, he said that if I kept hiding Trini from him, what happened to Jason would happen to me."

"I know, you told me that. But don't you think he just said that to rattle your chains a bit?"

"Whatever, no offense, but I'd rather not get into this right now." Kimberly said as she got up. She walked up to Dana and Carter's room and found Trini asleep on the bed. She kneeled beside her and gently shook her shoulder. "Sweetie, it's time to wake up." She whispered. Trini groaned and slowly woke up.

"Mommy?" She asked, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"Hey." Kimberly said softly. "Come on; let's get back to the house so you can get some sleep." Trini shook her head.

"I'm not," she yawned. "Sleepy."

"I know, but I am, so how about you keep me company?" Kimberly asked.

"What about the ice cream?" Trini asked. "I was a good girl." Kimberly smiled and gently stroked the side of her daughter's face.

"I promise we'll go for ice cream tomorrow. And you can have the biggest, fudgiest, whipped creamiest sundae there is." She said. Trini smiled.

"Yay." She said. Kimberly got up and took Trini's hand as she hopped off the bed. Trini shuffled tiredly out with her. Kimberly smiled and bent down. She lifted Trini up in her arms. Trini rested her head on her shoulder and promptly fell back asleep. Kimberly went to the front door. Dana got up and opened it for her. "Bye." She whispered to her as she walked out. Dana waved and shut the door behind her. Kimberly took Trini up to the guest house and walked in. She carried her to the bed and gently set her down in a sitting up position. She let Trini rest her head against her stomach as she worked on her fine art of getting her child out of her street clothes, into her pajamas, without waking her. After a few minutes she accomplished her goal and gently pulled the covers back as she placed Trini in bed. She tucked her in and then went to get undressed herself. As soon as she got into bed beside Trini, her mind wandered to the idea of Tony trying to take Trini away from her. She pulled Trini close and held her daughter to her as she kissed her forehead. _No one's taking you away from me, baby. Not ever. _She silently swore.


	15. The IHateEthanConnerandKira club

The next day, Sunday, Kira and Conner were sitting together in the park. Conner had his back against a tree and Kira was sitting in between his legs with her back pressed against his chest. He hand his arms around her shoulders.

"I'm glad we were able to hang out today." Kira said.

"Hmm?' Conner asked.

"I just mean, well, since Friday, things have been a little hectic."

"Yeah, these past two days have felt like two weeks." Conner said with a nod.

"Do you think Naomi's going to tell anyone about us?" She asked.

"Well, for now, I think she just knows about Ethan. Maybe she hasn't figured out that you, me and Dr. O are rangers too." Conner said.

"Yeah, but how long do you think it'll take her to do so?" Kira asked, tilting her head up so they were eye to eye. Conner sighed. He leaned in and kissed her lips softly.

"Well, if and when she does realize it, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it." He assured her. He sighed. "That is, unless she's decided to burn that bridge. I mean, I can't believe she did that to Ethan at Cyberspace." Kira thought for a second.

"I guess I can understand where she's coming from, though." She said. "I mean, she thinks all those notes, gifts and everything were just some sick joke. She's probably feeling totally betrayed and hurt right now."

"I guess you're right." Conner said.

"I really hope things get better." Kira said. "I mean, I know we've only known her a month, but I've liked hanging out with her. Besides, no offense to you or Ethan, it was nice having another girl around." She leaned her head against his shoulder. Conner lowered his head and planted gentle kisses on her neck. Kira moaned gently. Conner smiled.

"You like that?" He teased. Kira groaned.

"You're mean." She said. Conner grinned and went back to kissing her neck. Kira's eyes drifted shut as Conner wrapped his arms around her tighter.

---

Sunday went by and it was now Monday morning. Conner had gone to Kira's house to pick her up for school. She had been too happy to go to school for Conner's comprehension. They pulled up into the school parking lot and the two got out. Conner dragged himself out, where as Kira almost bounced out.

"I hate Mondays." Conner groaned, leaning against the hood of his car. Kira laughed and stood in front of him. She wrapped her arms around her waist.

"I'm so glad to be back in school." She said. Conner groaned again.

"My girlfriend's a freak." He said. Kira laughed again.

"Hey guys," came Ethan's voice. Kira turned to see him standing behind him. He looked miserable, but seemed to have some hope, as if he thought that perhaps by now things have blown over with Naomi.

"Hey, man." Conner said with a tone of sympathy. Kira slowly slid her arms away from Conner and stood next to him. She figured that seeing her and Conner being joined at the hip wouldn't make Ethan feel better.

"How are you?" She asked. Ethan sighed and shrugged.

"Come on; let's go sit down for a bit before the bell rings." Conner suggested. The three sat at one of the picnic tables on the lawn. Ethan looked horrible and Kira and Conner were just looking at him with pure sympathy. After a few minutes, they heard footsteps approaching. Kira and Conner looked up.

"Naomi, hey." Kira said. _Maybe things have blown over._ She thought. Naomi was carrying her school bag and another bag. Ethan sat up and turned to face her. He smiled.

"Hey." He said. "Listen-" He began to say.

"Shut up." Naomi said. "I'm not interested in what ever it is you have to say." She stood at the edge of the table and picked up the extra bag she had. She dumped out the contents of it on the table. Ethan's eyes widened as he saw it.

"Naomi, these are the things I gave you."

"Yeah, I figured you could just use it for the next groupie you get." Naomi snapped. She went to walk away then stopped. "Oh, almost forgot." She said. She turned back to them and reached under her shirt and pulled out the necklace. She pulled it off, breaking the chain and dumped it on the small pile of gifts on the table. She then walked away.

"Ethan, I-" Conner began to say.

"Don't." Ethan sighed. Not too far away, Trent stood, using his dino power, camouflaged by one of the pillars right outside the school. He smirked. _Aw, poor pathetic blue ranger. _He saw Naomi coming up the side of the pillar and decided to step out in front of her. Naomi jumped back, placing her heart on her chest.

"Oh my gosh." She gasped.

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you." He said. Naomi looked at him and blinked.

"**_Sorry." The Blue Ranger said. "Didn't mean to scare you." He said. Naomi chuckled nervously._**

"**_Me? Scared? not." Naomi said. He smiled._**

"_**You weren't leaving, were you?" He asked.**_

"Naomi?" Trent asked. His voice tore her away from her memory of the other night with Ethan.

"Huh?" She asked, blinking. "Oh, uh, sorry, I just didn't see you there." Trent smirked.

"What can I say, I blend in easily." He said. Naomi smiled.

"What's up?" She asked.

"Nothing, what about you?"

"Just about to head to class." She said. "I'll see you later." She said. She walked past him. Trent watched her leave. He looked over at the three rangers, and couldn't help feel joyful at Ethan's misery.

----

Science class was rather bittersweet for Tommy. He was glad to see Kira back in class, yet he also felt bad for Ethan. Naomi had come to class early and taken a different seat, distancing herself from Ethan, Conner and Kira. The three teens weren't just his students, they were his teammates, and therefore were his friends. Ethan was depressed, and Tommy felt for him. He was glad when class was over. He saw all his students file out and head to there next classes.

"Bye Doctor Oliver." Cassidy said as she past him by.

"See you tomorrow." Devin said as he shadowed the blonde. Tommy simply gave a nod. Tommy looked over to see Ethan still sitting in his seat, hunched over the table. Tommy sighed and waited for the very last student to leave. He shut and locked the door to make sure they didn't have any disturbances. He walked over and sat across from the youth. He didn't speak. He figured if Ethan wanted to talk, he'd make the first move. The room was silence for about a minute or so.

"She returned all the things I gave her." Ethan said softly, not lifting his head. "The game, the card, the necklace, everything." Tommy looked at him, but still remained silent. "She tore the necklace off her. Watching that chain snap…It felt like that was my heart." Ethan gave a small bitter chuckle. "That sounds so pathetic."

"No it doesn't." Tommy said. "You have strong feelings for her."

"I do." Ethan said. "I keep trying to tell her that it wasn't a joke, but she won't give me a chance."

"Give her some time." Tommy said. "I know that sounds like awful advice, but just give her time. I'm sure she'll realize that you never meant to hurt her and when that time comes, you guys and talk this out." Tommy suggested.

"I just….I miss hanging out with her. As Ethan and as the blue ranger." Ethan said. "Everything was perfect. I mean, I had the friendship, and I'm pretty sure we were heading to the romance as the blue ranger."

"Ethan, you and I both know that it wouldn't have worked out." Tommy sighed. "The blue ranger couldn't be with her all the time. And, to go back to what Conner said the other night, what would you have done if she wanted to be closer to the blue ranger? Ethan can be there for her. Ethan can be close to her."

"That is, if she still wants him to be." Ethan grumbled. "I know it was mega wrong of me to do what I did. I know I should have told her how I felt as myself. It's just that…..Well, I'm Ethan James, computer geek…..But when I morph, I'm The Blue Dino Ranger. I'm powerful, I'm a superhero. I just figured she wouldn't want to look at me as me as more then a friend, but if she saw me as the blue ranger-"

"But now she knows the truth." Tommy said. He suddenly realized something. "You're worried that now that she knows you're the blue ranger, she's not going to have those romantic feeling anymore?"

"Yeah." Ethan said. "I mean, I think I've just ruined all chances I've ever had of having anything more then platonic with her." Ethan groaned. He got up. "I've got to get to class. See you later." He said as he left. Tommy simply sighed softly.

----

The day went by quickly and it was soon time for lunch. Naomi came out of the lunch hall and walked into the outdoor eating area. She stood there for a while, unsure what to do. She saw Conner, Kira, Ethan and Eric sitting at a table together. She had spent all her time since she came to Reefside hanging out with Kira, Conner and Ethan and hadn't really made any other good friends. She didn't want to sit with them, so now she was probably going to be forced to sit alone.

"Naomi!" Someone called. She looked over to see Trent at a table waving her over. He got up and walked over to her. "Come on, I saved you a seat." He said.

"The table's empty." Naomi pointed out. Trent laughed.

"Yeah, so saving your seat wasn't too difficult." He joked. Naomi laughed. "Here, let me get that." He said as he took her tray. He led her to the table. The two of them sat down. Not too far away, the other four were staring at this sight with confusion.

"Why isn't Naomi sitting with us?" Eric asked, he looked at the others. They were silent, unsure what to say. "Okay then, forget I asked." He said as he continued to eat.

"Thanks for letting me sit with you." Naomi said. "I didn't exactly want to be seen as some pathetic loner by sitting alone."

"No problem. Besides, you're not hanging with your old crew, I figured I'd extend a hand to a potential friend."

"What brings on the sudden urge to be my friend?" She asked. Trent sighed. _Great, she's not as stupid as I had hoped. Time to think. _

"Ok, you want the truth?" He asked. Naomi nodded. "We've both been having issues with members of that little group. I just figured misery loves company, especially company that has dealt with that misery."

"So, what, is this an 'I-hate-Ethan-Conner-and-Kira' club?" Naomi asked sarcastically. Trent laughed.

"Sure, why not." Trent said.

"I don't know. It seems a little juvenile to me." She said. She looked at Trent. "No offense."

"None taken." He said. "I just hate seeing you upset because of those jerks." He said. Naomi sighed.

"That's sweet, Trent." She said. "I'll be fine."

"Are you sure?" He asked.

"Mmm-hmmm."

"OK, if you're positive." Trent said, giving her a sweet boyish smile. "So, are you going to come to Cyberspace today?" He asked.

"I don't think so." Naomi said. "I should probably steer clear of Haley's. I mean, I don't want to have an encore of Saturday."

"Hey, if he bugs you, I'll help you out." Trent said. "Come on, please?" He begged. Naomi sighed.

"I'll think about it." She said.

---

Conner came home from school alone.

"Mom, I'm home." He said. Mrs. McKnight came to the living room from the kitchen.

"Hey sweetie. Where's your brother?" He asked.

"He's checking out some clubs at school. I offered to wait for him, but he told me to go home."

"Oh, ok." She said. "Anyway, are you doing anything this weekend?" She asked. Conner slid his book-bag off his shoulder and onto the floor.

"Not that I know of, why?"

"Well, I was wondering if you could take your brother to the mall. He needs to get some new clothes for school and such." Conner looked at her oddly. "What is it?"

"Eric told me you guys went shopping on Saturday." He said.

"Of course not. You and Eric are old enough to not need me to go get your clothes for you. I wouldn't put Eric through, as you put it 'total mega embarrassment'." She said with a smile.

"Oh." Conner said. "You know what, maybe I heard him wrong." Conner said, letting it just roll off his back. "Anyway, I'm going to go hang out at Cyberspace." He said. "I mean, if that's okay with you." He added. Mrs. McKnight smiled.

"Sure, go ahead." She said. Conner went to leave. "Oh, and Conner?" She said.

"Yeah mom?" He asked.

"One of these nights, I would like to invite Kira and her parents for dinner." She said. Conner's jaw nearly dropped.

"What?" He sputtered out.

"What? I can't meet your girlfriend's parents?" She asked. Conner blinked.

"I-"

"Just say 'yes mom'." She said. Conner sighed.

"Yes, mom." He said. "Can I go now?" He asked. Mrs. McKnight nodded. Conner left and got in his car. As he drove to Cyberspace two thoughts floated in his head: How embarrassing for him it was going to be to have his girlfriend's parents over and why in the world did Eric lie?


	16. Secret Meetings and Confessions

Eric stood at the side of the school building, looking around, making sure it was deserted.

"Hey." Came a voice. Eric spun around, fear coursing through him, but was relieved to see it was the person he had been waiting for. "Jumpy." The person smirked. Eric sighed.

"Shut up." He said. "You got it?" He asked.

"Yeah, yeah, I got it." The person said it. "You're lucky we're friends. Do you know how much trouble I'd be in if anyone found out I was here?"

"You have my eternal gratitude." Eric said. He pulled out an envelope from his pocket and handed it to the person. The person handed him another envelope. "You are coming back next week, right?" He asked.

"I'll try." Was the person's reply as they left.

----

Kira had just finished a killer math test. She'd studied while she was suspended, but it had still be excrutatingly hard. She had taken it after school because the teacher was kind enough to let her use the actual period to do a bit more studying. Now she was going to meet up with the others at Cyberspace. As she was turning the corner to her locker, and not looking where she was going, she slammed into Trent, causing both teens to crash to the ground, books and papers going everywhere.

"Trent! Oh my god. I'm so sorry." Kira apologized as she tried to gather his things and help him. She went to pick up his social studies textbook, but Trent snatched it up before she could get to it.

"Watch where you're going you idiot." he snarled before pushing himself up and stalking away furiously.

"Whoa, what crawled up your butt and died?" She muttered.

"Kira!" Came a surprised voice. She looked up and saw Eric standing there.

"Hey, Eric." She said. Eric got down and helped her with her things.

"What are you doing here?" He asked nervously.

"Had to take a test. What about you?"

"Just about to leave. Just going to get my stuff from my locker." He said.

"Are you going to Cyberspace?" She asked.

"Uh, no." Eric said. "I have to…study." He said. The two of them stood up and he handed her her books. "I'll see ya." He said as he walked off. Kira was a little surprised by his behavior. She shrugged and put the books she wasn't going to need for the night in her locker and grabbed her things and left, making her way to Cyberspace.

-----

Tommy walked into the hospital. He went to the front desk.

"May I help you?" The woman behind the desk asked.

"Yeah, I'd like to see Jason Lee Scott." He said. The woman nodded.

"All right, it's-"

"I know where it is, thank you." Tommy said politely. He walked to Jason's room. He saw the door was slightly ajar.

"………I do still have feelings for him." Said a voice. Tommy realized it was Kimberly. "You know that I do. I'm just afraid. I'm afraid that if-" Tommy inched the door open a bit to hear better but it creaked. Kimberly spun around and saw him standing there. "Tommy." She gasped. "How long have you been standing there?" She asked.

"I just got here." He said. "Can I come in?" He asked. Kimberly nodded. Tommy walked in and sat down beside her. The two were silent.

"I'm sorry about the other day." They both finally said at the same time. "Why are you sorry?" They both said. They laughed.

"You first." Kimberly said.

"Look, I'm sorry about what happened. I mean, we haven't seen each other in years and I shouldn't have pushed you like that." He said.

"I'm sorry for getting all weird on you." Kimberly said.

"Friends?" He asked. Kimberly smiled and nodded.

"Totally."

"Well, friend, have you had lunch yet today?" He asked. Kimberly shook her head.

"I usually don't eat much besides one of those granola meal bars." She shrugged.

"Well, how about I take you to Cyberspace?" He asked. He had come to the hospital with the hopes of being able to talk to Jason, but now that he was in the room, he couldn't.

"I can't. I actually have to go pick Trini up from school." She said.

"Well, how about I take you both out for some smoothies at cyberspace?" He asked. Kimberly smiled.

"OK, then. How about I pick up Trini and we meet you there?" She suggested.

"Sounds good." He said. He looked at Jason once more. "I should go." He said. He went to get up.

"Tommy?" Kimberly said, stopping him. "You're not a bad friend because you feel uncomfortable. I know Jason understands." She said softly. Tommy looked at her.

"I hope so." He said sadly. He got up and left.

-----

An hour later Conner, Kira, Ethan, Tommy, Kimberly and Trini were sitting in Cyberspace.

"Kimberly, she is so adorable." Kira said, smiling at Trini. "She looks just like you." Kimberly smiled. She looked at Trini.

"What do you say, honey?" She asked.

"Thank you." Trini said shyly. Haley walked over. She smiled and kneeled beside Trini.

"Hey, I'm Haley. Would you like a chocolate ice cream soda?" She asked. Trini's eyes lit up. She looked at Kimberly.

"Mommy, can I?" She asked. Kimberly laughed softly.

"Sure." She said. Haley took Trini's hand as she hopped off the chair and led her to the counter. She picked her up and placed her on one of the stools and got behind the counter to make the drink.

"So, Kira how was your first day back in school?" Tommy asked. Kira smiled.

"It was great."

"Again I say, my girlfriend's a freak." Conner said. Kira smacked his arm playfully. Kimberly smiled at the couple. Her heart ached a little seeing them, remembering how she and Tommy were when they were that young. Ethan sighed.

"You know what; I think I'm just going to head home." He announced.

"Are you sure?" Kira asked.

"Do you want us to come with you?" Conner asked.

"Yes, I'm sure and no I don't." Ethan said. "I'll see you tomorrow." He said as he left. As he was walking out, he saw Naomi approaching the café. She stopped when she saw him. "Naomi." He said softly.

"Don't." She said. Ethan walked up to her.

"Look, I just…I just wanted to tell you that-"

"Like I said this morning, I'm not interested in whatever it is you have to say. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go see my friend."

"Who? Trent?" Ethan asked.

"Yes, Trent. Is that a problem? Keep in mind I don't give a damn even if it is." Naomi said coldly. Ethan sighed.

"Naomi, I miss you."

"You miss me pinning after your alter-ego?" She asked.

"No! I miss talking to you, hanging out." He said, there was intense pleading in his eyes. Naomi looked at him. For a second, Ethan thought she was about to accept his apology, but her face soon became cold.

"Well, get ready to do a lot of missing." She said. "Don't think I'm stupid. I've figured out that Conner, Kira and Doctor Oliver are the other rangers." She whispered. "And unless you want me telling the whole school your secret, I suggest you and your buddies stay away from me."

"What?" Ethan asked, stunned she'd even say that.

"You heard me." She said. "Stay away from me, or else the truth will be revealed." She said. "I'm sure the identity of the rangers will be a great follow-up to my story on Kira, right?" She asked. Ethan felt like he had been punched in the stomach and slapped in the face at the same time. "Suddenly I don't feel the need to drink a smoothie." Naomi said as she turned around and walked back home. Ethan closed his eyes and walked home.

----

Back inside, Trini was sitting at the counter, happily sipping her drink. Trent looked at the clock on the wall and went up to Haley.

"Hey, my dad's about to come pick me up, is it all right if I take off early?" He asked. Haley nodded. Trent went to the back to punch out his time card. He came back a couple of minutes later at the same moment that Anton Mercer walked in. Kimberly had been laughing with Tommy, Kira and Conner and gazed up at the door. Her entire body froze and she felt a lump in her throat.

"Kimberly?" Tommy asked, seeing her face go pale. His voice was distant to Kimberly. Anton looked at Kimberly. Kimberly's heart rammed against her chest. She felt herself start to hyperventilate. She quickly got up and grabbed her purse. "Kim?" Tommy asked again. Kimberly rushed over to the counter and grabbed Trini.

"What's going on?" Haley asked.

"Sweetie, we've got to go." Kimberly said to Trini.

"But I want to finish my drink." She said.

"Now!" Kimberly said, her voice shaking. Trini's eyes went wide and she slowly climbed off the stool. Kimberly grabbed her hand and went to leave, only to bump into Anton.

"Kimberly." He said softly. "What a pleasant surprise."

"What are you doing here?" Kimberly snarled.

"What do you mean? I live in Reefside." He said. He looked down at Trini. "Is this little Katrina?" He said. He went to get closer to her but Kimberly pulled her behind her.

"Stay away from us." She said through gritted teeth. She picked Trini up and ran out.

"What just happened?" Kira asked.

"I don't know." Tommy said. "But I intend to find out." He got up and followed her. Kimberly was standing against the wall, holding Trini close, shaking and crying.

"Kimberly, what's wrong?" He asked.

"I just…." She tried to say. "I just…Have to go." She set Trini down and pulled out her keys. Her hands were shaking too much to get it into the lock.

"Here, let me do it." He said. He took the keys from her and opened the back door of the car. He opened it and let Trini slide in.

"Kimberly, it's quite rude to just run out on people without saying goodbye." Came Anton's voice as he came out of the café with Trent behind him. "Trent, go wait in the car." He said. Trent nodded and left. He looked at Kimberly. "I do hope you're not teaching Katrina those manners." Tommy was at a complete lost as to what was going on.

"Leave me alone." Kimberly said. "You stay away from us, you bastard!" She yelled.

"It's good to see that you haven't lost the spunkiness of your youth." Anton smiled as he took one step back. "After all, that was what did attract me to you."

"Kimberly, what is he talking about? How do you know each other?" Tommy asked.

"You mean, she hasn't told you?" Anton asked.

"Shut up." Kimberly said.

"Kimberly and I go way back."

"I said, shut up." Kimberly said, her fists clenching. Anton smirked.

"I should get going. It was nice seeing you." He said as he left. Kimberly turned to Tommy.

"Give me my keys." She said.

"Kimberly, what's going on?" He asked.

"Just give me my damn keys." She said.

"What was he talking about? How do you know Anton Mercer?" Tommy asked. Kimberly slid against the wall and sat down, sobbing. Tommy sat beside her. "Talk to me, Beautiful." He whispered. Kimberly wiped at her cheeks and looked at him.

"I can't." She said softly. "I have to go."

"You're not driving in that condition." Tommy said. He stood up and helped Kimberly to her feet. "I'll drive you." Kimberly stopped.

"No. I-I can't go back to Dana and Carter's." She said softly.

"Why?"

"I just can't, ok!" Kimberly screeched.

"OK, ok. I'll take you somewhere." He said. "Go get in my jeep, I'll get Trini, all right?" He said. Kimberly nodded as she did as he said.

----

A little while later, Tommy pulled the van over in front of his house. Trini had fallen asleep in Kimberly's lap.

"Where are we?" Kimberly asked. Tommy opened his door and got out.

"My house." He said. He went around and opened Kimberly's door. He took Trini from her so she could get out easily.

"What? Tommy, no.." Kimberly said, beginning to panic again.

"Shhhh." Tommy said. He got in the house. "Sit down." He said. "I'll take Trini upstairs." He went and placed Trini on the bed in his guest room. He came down and found Kimberly pacing around the living room.

"Tommy, you shouldn't have brought me here." She said.

"Why? What's going on?" He went over and pulled her to the couch. "I..I heard you earlier talking to Jason. You said you were afraid. Afraid of what?" He asked as they sat down. Kimberly sniffled and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. She looked at Tommy.

"I met Anton when I first went to Florida. He was a friend of Coach Schmitt…Coach called him Tony…I just figured that was his name….I…"

"Kimberly?"

"Tony…Anton….Whatever his name is…I'm afraid of him."

"Why?" Tommy asked. Kimberly drew in a shaky breath.

"Because, I'm 99 certain he's the one who put Jason in the coma." She said. Tommy's eyes bulged out. "……And, he's Trini's father." Kimberly said.


	17. Stay with me

Tommy sprang up from the couch.

"WHAT?!" He exclaimed. "How………How is that…….No.." He rambled. Kimberly sobbed softly. "You're telling me, Anton Mercer, the man I worked with on that island, is Trini's father?" He demanded.

"Why are you getting upset? He was Trini's father before he was your colleague!" Kimberly yelled through her tears.

"Is…..Is he the guy in the letter?" Tommy asked, trying to calm down. Kimberly nodded. "Well, you two didn't exactly seem very loving towards each other." Tommy said.

"We were never in love." Kimberly said. She took a deep breath. "Like I said, he was friends with Coach Schmitt. He'd come by practice a lot and I knew he was attracted to me, he'd compliment me, flirt with me, ask me out, but he was so much older then me and besides I was with you. Then one night I was talking on the phone with Billy and he told me how you and Kat have been getting along so well, and I got scared. The next night, I accepted his invitation to dinner. I drank too much wine because I was so upset, and he took me back to my place after dinner. I…" Her voice broke out into sobs. "I was so upset with you and I was drunk…And I don't remember how it happened but.."

"Are you saying it's my fault that we broke up?" Tommy asked.

"No!" Kimberly said. "I….It was my fault. After what happened, I felt so awful and I wanted to tell you but I was scared. Then a little while later I found out I was pregnant and I knew you'd never love me again after that so I just wrote you that letter telling you I found someone else."

"Then what?" Tommy asked.

"I told Anton that I was pregnant but, of course, he said it wasn't his and he wasn't going to take care of some, as he called it 'drunken mistake'. I dropped out of the Pan Globals and tried to think of what to do." Kimberly's body tightened as she tried to hold back sobs. "I couldn't tell my parents about it and I couldn't call you guys so I just faded away from existence. I spent the first month or so of the pregnancy living on the streets. Then, one day I saw Zack, Trini and Jason. They had finished their conferences in Europe and wanted to come see me." She remembered that day.

**_Kimberly was huddled on a park bench. She could hear people walking past her and talking. Some would say things about her; they'd pity her or just not care. Kimberly winced as her stomach growled. She was so scared. She barely ate enough for herself, and knew this wasn't good for the baby growing inside of her. She simply would eat whatever she could find in trashcans or whatever people were kind enough to give her. At that moment, Trini, Zack and Jason were walking by the park._**

"_**I wonder where Kim is." Trini said. They had just tried visiting her at the gym, but were told she had dropped out weeks ago. **_

"_**I don't know. I'm really worried." Zack said. Jason nodded in agreement with his friend. They were walking into the park when something caught Jason's eye. He stopped and squinted. **_

"_**Oh, god." He whispered. He ran over to the body on the bench. Zack and Trini followed, afraid Jason had lost his mind but soon saw who it was. **_

"**_Kimberly!" Zack gasped. Jason reached her first and kneeled beside her. He prayed she was alive. _**

_**  
"Kim?" He whispered. Kimberly's eyes opened. She looked so pale and weak. **_

"_**Jason?" She asked softly. "Is it really you?" Jason nodded. He helped her sit up. Kimberly saw the other two. **_

"_**Oh my god, Kimberly." Trini said as she sat beside her and hugged her. "What happened?" Kimberly looked at them and hugged Trini tightly, sobbing on her friend's shoulder.**_

"After they found me, they took me to a diner and we ate while I told them what happened. They took care of me and helped me get back on my feet. After a while Zack went to do plays on Broadway so it was just Trini, Jason and myself. After Katrina was born, I decided to get a place of my own. I got a cheap apartment. While I was seeing doctors and everything during the pregnancy, I became interested in the medical field so I started working two jobs while Trini and Jason watched Katrina. After I made enough money, I went to college, did my best and was able to get a scholarship to medical school. Everything was fine until two years ago when somehow Tony……Anton…..He found me and started harassing me. Jason moved in with me and Katrina and was there for us. You know he almost backed out of the red ranger reunion because he didn't want to leave us alone? I told him he had to go and I wasn't going to allow him to miss it. After he got back, he and Tony had a confrontation about me and Katrina. A few days later, Jason was rock climbing, next thing I know I'm getting a call from the hospital. It seems he put me down as the person to contact in emergencies." Kimberly finished off the story. She looked over to see Tommy's eyes were shinning with tears.

"Kim..I….I'm sorry." He whispered. "I wish I could've been there for you." He rushed to her side and hugged her close.

"There's more." Kimberly whispered. She looked at him. "Tommy, the other night when I said we should just be friends..I only did it because I was scared Tony would find us and he'd hurt you like he hurt Jason."

"What are you saying?" Tommy asked.

"I love you, I never stopped loving you. Jason dragged me to see you guys, you remember? That time he and I ended up getting kidnapped and taken to Muranthis? He wanted me to tell you what had happened, but when I saw you and Kat so happy together, I couldn't."

"Oh, Kim." Tommy said, wiping at her tears. "No one has ever made me happy the way you did. Kat was….a distraction. I thought that if I was with her I wouldn't feel the pain of missing you so much, but it didn't work. You are the only person I've ever loved." He said.

"Oh, god, I wished you hadn't said that." Kimberly whispered.

"Why?"

"Tommy, Trini and I have to leave. We can't stay in Reefside."

"No, you can't leave." Tommy begged. "Kim, when you sent me that letter, it felt like a part of me disappeared. That night that I saw you and Trini in the store felt like the piece might return. You can't leave."

"I can't stay. Carter and Dana might get hurt. I won't let him hurt them or their baby."

"Fine, then stay with me." Tommy said. Kimberly looked at him.

"What?"

"Stay with me." He repeated. "I'll protect you both and take care of you."

"No, Tommy, I can't. If he ever hurt you…..I'd…I'd die."

"He's not going to hurt me. Everything's going to be fine. Please, Kimberly, stay." He begged. He leaned in and kissed her softly. Kimberly could feel all the love and sorrow he felt for her past. Kimberly held him close. After they parted, she looked at him.

"I..I guess…We could stay." She said softly. Tommy smiled and kissed her lips again.

"Great." He said. "How about I make us some dinner and you call Dana and Carter and tell them where you are. I don't want them to worry." He said.

"OK." She went and picked up the phone while Tommy went to the kitchen. "Tommy?" She called out. He turned to her. "Thank you." She said softly. Tommy smiled.

"No thanks needed. I'd do anything for you, Beautiful." He said. Kimberly smiled and then turned back to the phone to call Dana and Carter. A little while later, she got off the phone and came into the kitchen to join Tommy. "You called them?" He asked.

"I told Dana I was here and that Trini and I might stay with you for a while. I didn't want to bring up To….Anton." She said. "He doesn't know them and they've never seen him, so as long as they don't know he's here and who he really is, I figure everything will be fine." She sighed. "Dana thinks I'm paranoid for thinking that Tony hurt Jason. But….I don't know, it just seems too much of a coincidence. And..The rope, it looked like someone had taken a lot of time to make sure it looked like it snapped on its own instead of being cut."

"You saw the rope?" Tommy asked.

"It was just at the cliff. It was ruled an accident, so no one bothered to investigate." She looked at Tommy. "Do you agree with Dana?" She asked. Tommy turned and looked at her.

"I don't know." He said. "I mean, when Anton and I worked together, he wasn't some crazed stalker or something. But….Now, he seems different. And..You said that he suddenly re-appeared two years ago, right?"

"Yeah. Suddenly wanted to know our child and everything."

"That's around the time the lab exploded."

"Are you saying that the explosion led to him suddenly wanting to be father of the year?" Kimberly asked.

"I don't know. Maybe." Tommy said. Kimberly sighed and sat down.

"What, faced with death he realized how much of a deadbeat he was and wanted to make amends? Well, boo-friggen-hoo. I don't care about his sudden urge for family."

"You're angry, which you have a right to be. But if he just wants to see his daughter…Maybe-"

"I should let him?" Kimberly asked. "No. Absolutely not. He gave up his rights when I had to give birth to her and have an empty space on her birth certificate under father."

"I'm not saying he should be part of your lives, but-"

"The answer is no." Kimberly said sternly. Tommy sighed and went over. He sat down next to her and took her hands in his.

"I'm sorry. It's not my place to tell you what to do." He said.

"I'm sorry, I just…" She sighed. "If I get solid proof that he had nothing to do with Jason, undisputed, without a doubt, and I believe it, maybe I'll consider it."

"Well, the only proof that would suffice would be-" Tommy began.

"Jason waking up and saying 'no, Kim, it really was an accident'. And since that might not happen for a while, Anton can just sit and stew." She took a deep breath. "So, what's for dinner?"

---

Dana waddled back into the living room after getting off the phone with Kimberly. Carter was lying on the couch reading a book. She had been lying with him also reading but had gotten up to answer the phone. She stood there watching him for a while, watching him. She smiled softly and ran her hands over her rounded belly. As much as she complained, she really did love being pregnant. She loved knowing that something that she and Carter had created was growing inside of her. Carter sensed her presence and looked up.

"Hey." He said. "What'cha doing?" Dana smiled.

"Just watching you." She said. Carter grinned.

"Like what you see?" He asked. Dana laughed softly and lay beside him on the couch. "So, who was on the phone?" He asked.

"Kim. She said she and Trini are at Tommy's, so we don't need to worry or anything."

"Ah." Carter said.

"She said that they might stay with him for a little while." Dana added.

"So, I guess them getting back together isn't too far off." Carter said with a smile.

"Guess so." She said.

---

"You going to tell me what happened between you and that woman or am I supposed to just guess?" Trent asked. He and Anton were sitting at the dinner table, eating. Anton looked at him.

"It's nothing you need to concern yourself with." He replied.

"Really? Because it seems like that kid is my 'little sister'. And, I do think that is my concern." Trent said. Anton wiped at his mouth, signifying he was changing the subject.

"So, have you been able to get any information from that girl?" He asked. Trent shook his head.

"She's smart. She's not just going to fall into some guy just because he's helping her out and has been there for her for a few days."

"Well, keep at it. Something tells me she knows something about Dr. Oliver and his band of misfits."

"Sure thing, dad." Trent said.

---

AN: I know in the series, Anton wasn't mean or evil, it was just Mesogog, but for the purpose of this story, we're just going to have him be evil as himself and as Mesogog.


	18. Going in for the kill

Trent waited outside of school the next day, waiting for Naomi to arrive. He had to step up his game in order to get Naomi to not only trust him unconditionally, but also give him any information she might have on the other three. After a while, he saw her walking up. She seemed distant. He put on a smile.

"Hey." He said. Naomi blinked and looked at him.

"Oh, hi." She said.

"You okay?" He asked. Naomi nodded.

"Yeah, I was just thinking."

"About?" He asked.

"Nothing important." She said. She went to step up the stairs to the building. Trent got up and followed her.

"Oh. Hey, what happened to you last night? You never showed up to Cyberspace." He said. Naomi went to her locker.

"I lost track of time. Sorry." She said, not wanting to tell him about her run in with Ethan. At that moment, Eric walked over to them.

"Hey, Naomi, can I talk to you for a second?" He asked. Naomi got her books out and shut her locker.

"Uh, sure, what's up?" She asked. Eric looked at Trent.

"I mean, alone." He said. Trent glared at him. Naomi looked at Trent.

"I'll see you in class." She said. Trent's jaw nearly dropped. How dare she tell him to go away?

"Sure." He said. He walked off. Naomi looked at Eric.

"Talk." She said.

"What's going on between you, my brother, Kira and Ethan?" He asked bluntly.

"What are you talking about?" She asked.

"You haven't talked to them in days. Ethan's totally miserable." He said. Naomi rolled her eyes and began walking to class. Eric followed.

"I bet he is." She muttered.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He asked. Naomi sighed and looked at him.

"Look, Eric, I really don't think this is any of your business, so butt out." She said. Eric winced.

"Harsh." He said.

"Well, mind your own beeswax and I won't be so harsh." She said as she walked off. Eric's eyebrows rose.

"All right then." Eric muttered.

----

Kimberly was in her office in the hospital. Tommy had given her a ride to work and Trini a ride to school. Kimberly hadn't been sure how long they were going to be in Reefside, so she had decided to just have Trini transferred to Reefside Elementary. At first she was uneasy about leaving her daughter in school alone now that she knew Anton was there, but Tommy eased her worries. The elementary school was right by the high school and Tommy swore that he'd pick Trini up as soon as school was over.

"Dr. Hart," came the voice of one of the nurses as she entered the room. Kimberly looked up.

"Yes?"

"You're next patient is here." She said. Kimberly nodded.

"All right, send the Carson's in." She said. The nurse nodded and stepped out. A young married couple entered in her place. Kimberly gave a warm smile and stood up. "Hi, have a seat." She said, indicating the two seats. The man helped his very pregnant wife ease into the chair before he himself sat down beside her. Kimberly sat down. She looked over at the couple and saw that they were a little worried. "Oh, I'm sorry. I should tell you why I called to make an appointment." She said.

"We were a little worried, we thought you had found something wrong with the baby." Mrs. Carson said.

"No, no. I just wanted to have you two come in so we could talk. As you know, your former doctor retired, and I was given his patients, and I just wanted to meet with you two so you're both comfortable with the change." Kimberly said. The couple sighed in relief. "I hope I didn't cause complications for you guys. I should've had the nurse clarify the reason for this meeting when she called."

"It's all right." Mr. Carson said. "We were actually a little surprise when Dr. Burns retired so suddenly." He said.

"If you don't mind us asking," Mrs. Carson asked, "How experienced are you with deliveries?"

"Honey." Mr. Carson muttered, seeing it as somewhat rude.

"Oh, Mr. Carson, don't worry, I know I may not seem the most experienced, but let me assure you, you're in good hands." Kimberly smiled. "I've preformed three deliveries, one of which was a set of triplets, and I went through my own pregnancy and delivery, so I understand any concerns you may have." Kimberly explained. She opened up the file that was in front of her. "Now, I understand that you are expecting twins, but do not want to know the gender of either babies." She said.

"That's right." Mr. Carson said. He held his wife hand softly and the two smiled. "We want to be surprised."

"Oh, I know the feeling." Kimberly smiled. "When I was pregnant with my daughter, my friends wanted to know the sex, you know, make buying gifts easier, but I wanted to be surprised." Kimberly said. She grabbed one of the framed pictures from her desk and turned it, presenting it to the couple.

"Oh, she's beautiful." Mrs. Carson said. "How old is she?"

"She's seven years old." Kimberly smiled, putting the picture back down. "Now, are there any questions you would like to ask?" Kimberly asked.

"Well, actually, yeah." Mr. Carson said. "See, we had been trying to get pregnant for a while and we took fertility drugs, at the suggestion of Dr. Burns. And after we found out we were having twins, he told us that that's most likely a result of the drugs. We were just wondering if we should worry about any other side-effects from the drugs after the kids are born."

"You mean if there's going to be any abnormalities?" Kimberly asked.

"Well, yes. I mean, we're not saying that we'd love our children any less but-"

"You just want to be prepared. I understand completely." Kimberly nodded. "I've done some research on the medicine you took and there hasn't been any incidents of those type of effects. So, you can rest assure that your children will be fine." She said. "We can perform a sonogram and run some tests to be 100 certain, if you'd like." She said.

"That would be wonderful." Mrs. Carson said. Kimberly smiled. She stood up, picking up their file.

"All right, come with me to the examination room." She said. The couple stood up and followed her. Watching Mrs. Carson made Kimberly remember back to when she was pregnant with Trini. She smiled softly. As much as it had been hard, she knew she'd never change having Trini in her life for anything in the world.

---

"I can't believe she said that." Kira said. Conner, Ethan, Tommy and herself were in Tommy's classroom during lunch hour. "She actually said that?"

"Kira, we've been over it enough times. She said it. She told me that if any of us come near her again, our secret's going to be out." Ethan sighed.

"I'm sure she didn't mean it." Conner said, comforting his friend.

"You didn't see her face when she said it. She meant it all right." Ethan sighed. Tommy sat back, watching his students talking about Naomi. He sighed.

"She's scared." Tommy said.

"What?" Kira asked.

"She's scared. That's why she said it. At least, that's what I figure." Tommy said.

"What, of us?" Ethan asked, worried that he had somehow scared her.

"Not necessarily of us. More like the things that we fight against." Tommy said. "She's probably afraid that by getting involved with us, she'll be made a target by the enemy."

"But Haley's involved, and she's perfectly safe." Conner said.

"She's safe because we make sure to keep her that way. In public, Haley's just someone who owns the local hangout. We don't acknowledge her as more then that because our enemies would know how much she means to us and they'd use that against us."

"How?" Ethan asked.

"Oh, I don't know, kidnap her and make us exchange the gems for her safe return." Tommy said.

"Man, you've really been dealing with supernatural threats for a while, huh?" Conner said.

"One of the perks of being a power ranger veteran." Tommy smirked. "But seriously, we keep our friends out of danger, not only for their sake, but for the world's sake, and our own. You don't want to have to be in a situation where you have to decide between the safety of the universe and the safety of a loved one. If that's not psychological warfare, I don't know what is."

"You're right." Kira said, loosing the anger she had for Naomi. "I guess in Naomi's situation, I can't exactly say I wouldn't do the same."

"But we'd never let anything bad happen to Naomi." Ethan protested. "I'd never let anything happen to her." He said softly. Tommy went over and put a hand on his shoulder.

"I know. Who knows, maybe after some time Naomi will change her mind? But for now, we need to respect her wishes." He said. Ethan shrugged Tommy's hand off.

"Yeah, well I don't see you distancing yourself from Kimberly, so don't tell me what to do." Ethan said harshly.

"Ethan." Kira said, reprimanding him. Tommy put a hand up; telling Kira it was all right.

"You're right, I have no right to tell you what to do. But Kim was a power ranger once; she knows the dangers associated with this. Naomi doesn't." Tommy pointed out. Ethan crossed his arms.

"Well, I'm not just going to sit back and let her think that this was a joke and that I meant to hurt her." Ethan said, walking out. Conner went to follow but Tommy stopped him.

"Let him cool down." Tommy suggested.

---

After school, Tommy was waiting outside of the elementary school for Trini. Kimberly had told Trini's teacher that Tommy was a friend and would be picking Trini up so the teachers didn't need to worry about him being some child abductor or something. Trini came out of the building and saw Tommy. She smiled and ran over.

"Hey." Tommy smiled, kneeling down to her level. He was a little surprised when she jumped in his arms and hugged him. This was something a child would do when greeting a parent, not the friend of a parent, especially one she had just met a few days before. Tommy smiled and hugged her back. He stood up and opened the door of his jeep. He took her backpack and put it in the back before he helped her into the car. He walked around and got in the driver's seat. "So, how was school?" He asked. Trini smiled.

"It was fun. Today, in recess.." She chatted along as Tommy pulled out of the parking lot.

---

Trent and Naomi were walking home together.

"So, what did Eric want?" Trent asked.

"Oh, he just wanted to check if I got the same answers on the math homework as he did." Naomi lied.

"But you're not in the same math class as him." Trent said. Naomi looked at him.

"Oh, I know…..But our teachers have similar lesson plans." She said, thinking of a quick excuse.

"Oh." Trent said, not believing her. They soon came to her house.

"Well, here we are. I'll see you tomorrow." Naomi said. Trent nodded.

"Yeah, see ya." He said. Naomi went to go inside.

"Naomi." He said, making her turn back. _Time to go in for the kill. _He thought to himself.

----

Later that night, Kira, Conner and Ethan were sitting in Cyberspace.

"Hey, where's Eric?" Kira asked. Conner shrugged.

"I don't know. He's been acting weird lately." Conner said. Ethan wasn't listening to them. He was too busy watching the doors, waiting to see if Naomi was going to come in. "Speaking of family," Conner said. "My mom wants you and your parents to come over for dinner this weekend." He said.

"Oh." Kira said.

"Yeah, it's so embarrassing and everything but she's insisting." Conner sighed. Kira smiled.

"It's okay. I'm sure it'll be fun." She said.

"If by fun you mean utter humiliation to me, sure." Conner said. Kira smiled and gave him a soft kiss on the lips. At that moment, Naomi walked into Cyberspace. Ethan sat up. Kira and Conner saw this. They watched Naomi go over to the counter and say something to Trent. They all figured she was giving him her order. She smiled at him and sat at an empty table.

"I'm going to go talk to her." Ethan announced.

"Ethan, don't. Remember what Dr. O said." Kira said.

"I don't care." He hissed as he got up and went over to her. "Naomi." He said. Naomi looked at him.

"Ethan, I-"

"I know, you said you didn't want us to come near you again, but we need to talk." He said. He sat down across from her. Naomi looked over to Trent, then back at Ethan. "Just give me a minute." He begged. Naomi glared at him.

"Fine." She said. Ethan sighed. He actually wasn't sure what to say if she let him talk, he was so sure she'd turn him away. "50 seconds." Naomi said.

"OK, ok. Look, I know you think that this was all some dirty trick. But, you've got to believe me, that's not it at all." He said.

"Really? Then what was it?" She asked. Ethan looked down. "40 seconds." She reminded him. Ethan sighed.

"I like you." He blurted out.

"What?"

"I like you, a lot. I…….I was just too scared to tell you. And then….When it looked like you liked…you know…_him_…I thought that maybe I could show you how I felt through him." He said. "I know, it was still a shitty thing to do but-" He looked up to see that the cold hard expression had left Naomi's face.

"You like me?" She asked. "Like……More then friend like?"

"Yeah." Ethan said. He could feel his heart about to explode, as if she was about to forgive him. _Shows what you know, Dr. Oliver. _He thought to himself.

"I….I just thought…." Naomi said. "I just thought you wanted an ego boost."

"Of course not." Ethan said. "Naomi-" Trent walked over to them.

"Hey, I just punched out." Trent said to Naomi. Ethan glared at him.

"Good for you, now do you mind? We're kind of talking." Ethan said. Trent returned the glare. The two got into a staring contest.

"He and I have plans." Naomi said. Ethan turned to her.

"What?" He asked.

"Yeah, we've got plans." Trent said with a sneer. Naomi got up.

"What sort of plans?" Ethan asked. Naomi looked at Trent.

"I'll meet you outside." She said. Trent looked hesitant, then looked at Naomi.

"Fine." He said, leaving. Ethan looked at Naomi.

"Again I ask, what sort of plans?" He asked. Naomi sighed.

"The date like type of plans." She said.

"A date?" Ethan choked out.

"Yeah. Trent and I are going on a date…" She said softly.

"Bu…..But…"

"We kissed this afternoon……and we sort of…….got together…"

"You mean…You're boyfriend and girlfriend?" Ethan asked, feeling his heart breaking. Naomi turned to leave. Ethan got up and gently grabbed her arm. "Bu..But what about us?" He asked.

"What do you mean, there is no us." She said softly. Ethan realized she had a point. He released her arm.

"You're right." He said. "Have fun." Naomi looked at his pained expression and felt horrible.

"I'm sorry. I……I'll see you around." She said as she left. Ethan watched her leave as he slowly sank down back to the chair.

"Something tells me that didn't go well." Conner said softly to Kira. They had watched the whole exchange.


	19. Sulking

Kira and Conner slowly walked over to Ethan.

"Do we have to worry about our identities being in the next edition of the paper?" Conner asked. Kira elbowed him in the gut.

"Sensitive much?" She hissed. She sat down beside Ethan. "You okay?" She asked. Ethan blinked and looked at her.

"I talked to her.." He muttered. "And it looked like everything was going to be okay."

"But?" Conner asked. Ethan sighed.

"Trent got to her first."

"What?" Kira and Conner both asked, not expecting that.

"Naomi and Trent are an item now." Ethan said, still trying to grasp it himself. He stood up. "I've got to go." He sighed as he left. Kira and Conner watched him leave.

---

"So, what did jerkwad want?" Trent asked as he and Naomi walked together.

"Trent. Ethan's not-"

"He basically attacked you the other day in Cyberspace. In my eyes, he's a whole lot worse then 'jerkwad'." Trent said. Naomi looked at him. She smiled softly.

"Trent, that's really sweet." She said. "But, it's nothing, really. Some stuff happened, and now it's settled." She said. _At least I think so. _She thought. "Come on, let's just go enjoy our date." She said, sliding her hand in his.

"Sounds good to me." He smiled. _Have it your way, Naomi, but I'll get what I want soon enough. _

----

Tommy, Kimberly and Trini were at his house. Kimberly had just put Trini to bed and went to the living room to find Tommy sitting on the couch, deep in thought. She walked over and sat beside him.

"Hey." She said. Tommy turned to her and smiled. He put an arm around her and pulled her close. Kimberly rested her head against his chest and put her arm around his mid-section.

"Hey." He said.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Kimberly asked. Tommy sighed.

"It's nothing, I was just thinking."

"About?" She asked.

"I'm sure it's nothing, just me seeing too much into something." He said.

"So, tell me." Kimberly said. Tommy sat up, causing Kimberly to sit up and look at him.

"Today, when I went to pick Trini up from school, she ran over and hugged me."

"Yeah, so?" Kimberly asked.

"It's just…..It felt like something a kid does with a parent, not some guy their mom knows." Tommy said.

"You're not just some guy." Kimberly said.

"I know, I just…"

"It made you feel awkward?" She asked.

"I know that sounds terrible, but-"

"No, no, I understand." Kimberly said. "It's just how Trini is. I mean, she's grown up without a father, and I guess whenever there's an older male figure around who I'm getting close with, she latches onto that. She used to do that with Jason, it's only logical she's doing it with you."

"Oh. I shouldn't have brought it up."

"No, it's okay. Do you want me to talk to her about it?" Kimberly asked. Tommy shook his head.

"No, it's okay. I mean, its okay. I just….It's made me think." He said. Kimberly looked at him.

"How so?" She asked. Tommy sighed.

"This is going to sound weird. But it just made me think that…Maybe if things had been different…Trini would actually be….You know…Mine…." Kimberly smiled.

"I've thought about that a few times too." She said.

"You have?" He asked.

"Well, yeah. I mean, I love you, I always have." She cuddled up against him. "Trini would be lucky to have you as a dad." She smiled.

"You think so?"

"Yeah, I saw how you two were when you helped her with her shoes the other day, and I just couldn't help think about how great you were with her." She lifted her head and kissed him softly. Tommy smiled and held her close.

---

Trent walked Naomi home after their date.

"I had a great time tonight." She said. Trent smiled.

"Me too." He said.

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow." She said. They kissed briefly and Naomi smiled as she went inside. "Mom, dad, I'm home." She said. After a few minutes of her mom asking her about the date, she went up to her room. She sat down on her bed. Her mind drifted off to Ethan and what had happened before. She sighed, not wanting to leave things the way they were. She picked up the phone and dialed his number.

"Hello?" Came his voice after a couple of rings.

"Ethan, hey, it's me." She said softly. "Listen, I was wondering if we could talk..In person."

"Uh, sure. Now?" He asked.

"Yeah. Is that all right?"

"Yeah, sure. Should we meet somewhere?" He asked.

"Yeah. Do you want to meet at the same place we did that night…you know…when you weren't yourself?" She asked.

"OK. I'll see you then." He said. They hung up. About half an hour later, Naomi was sitting on a log, waiting for Ethan to arrive. "Naomi?" He said, walking up. Naomi looked up.

"Ethan, hey." She said. She stood up. "How are you?" She asked. Ethan stuffed his hands in his pockets.

"You really want to know?" He asked. Naomi winced and sat down.

"You want to sit?" She asked. Ethan sat beside her.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" He asked, looking towards the distance.

"I just…Wanted to talk." Naomi said. The two of them fell into an uncomfortable silence. "I'm sorry." She said. "I should've told you, about Trent and me." She said.

"Are you sure you wanted to?" He asked.

"What do you mean?" Naomi asked.

"I mean, are you sure it wasn't some sort of jab at me, like, revenge?"

"What? No! I had no idea you felt-"

"I'd understand if it was. I mean, you have every right to want-"

"Ethan, it wasn't like that." She sighed. "Ok, I'll admit it might've been at first……Kind of……I mean, I was mad at you and I wanted to move on, so I just made myself move on."

"Wait, are you saying that you did feel something for me?" Ethan asked hopefully.

"I mean, move on from the blue ranger." Naomi said.

"Oh." Ethan said, disappointed.

"I'm sorry."

"But…If I had talked to you before you and Trent kissed this afternoon…would we have-"

"I don't think that's relevant right now." Naomi said softly. "Look, Trent and I are together now, and-"

"Right, I shouldn't have asked." Ethan said. "So, what now?" He asked.

"I was hoping you could tell me."

"Maybe we should just…..Keep thing how they are now. You know, keep our distance."

"Are you mad at me about what I said last night?" Naomi asked. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have been so harsh and-"

"No, its just….Dr. Oliver said something to me today and at first I didn't want to go with it, but he had a point. You said that stuff last night because you were scared of getting involved with this. I mean, you're putting yourself in danger. I understand that now. I should go." He said, getting up.

"Ethan, wait." She said. Ethan stopped. "I………I've missed you." She said. "I mean, I've missed how things were before. You and me being friends…….talking. I miss that."

"I miss that too." He said. Naomi got up and walked over to him.

"So, can't we go back to that?" She asked. "Or, would it be too weird..?" Ethan looked at her. He saw how much she wanted to be friends again, and although he wanted more, he realized that having some contact with her would be better then none.

"No. It wouldn't be weird." He lied. Naomi smiled.

"Okay. And…About that whole danger thing…Well, I trust you, and the others. I know you guys wouldn't let anything happen to me." Ethan smiled.

"I….I mean, we wouldn't." He said.

"Okay. So, we're okay?" She asked.

"Yeah, we're okay." Ethan said. Naomi smiled and hugged him. Ethan hugged her back. "Come on, I'll walk you home." He said after they pulled away. Naomi nodded. They walked together, suddenly Naomi stopped.

"Uh, you know how sometimes, when you're really mad about something, you tend to do something and it's kind of dumb?" She asked. Ethan looked at her.

"What did you do?" He asked. Naomi winced.

"Well, last night, after I left Cyberspace and everything….I sort of typed out the article that would've gone in the newspaper if-" Ethan's eyes widened.

"Naomi!" He exclaimed.

"It was just some release thing!" She said quickly. "Look, right after I typed it I felt terrible so I erased it. I just thought you should know about it. You know, the whole honesty thing." She said with a smirk.

"You're not going to let me live down the whole me being not totally honest about my identity, are you?" He asked. Naomi grinned.

"Where would the fun be in that?" She asked innocently. Ethan groaned as they kept walking. As they past a tree, Trent stepped out of it. Unbeknownst to either Naomi or Ethan, he had followed Naomi to the meeting place and had evesdropped on the whole conversation. _Damnit. _He thought to himself. _Now that she's all nice nice with him I'm never going to get what I want. _He growled and stalked off to his house, trying to think of another plan of action.

---

Conner was heading over to his room after getting a snack from the kitchen when he passed by Eric's room.

"……I told you, you can't call here." He heard Eric say. Conner realized he was on the phone with someone. He secretly stood by the door and listened. He felt bad, but something was going on with his brother and he was determined to find out what it was. "…I know, I know. So do I, but if anyone finds out. What if my mom or Conner had answered? Look, I've got to go. No…….It's…….You know what, forget it……..Yeah, I am." Eric growled as he slammed down the phone. Conner stood there for a little while. He still had no idea in figuring out what was going on with his brother. He carefully crept to his room and sighed.

"What is up with you, bro?" He thought out loud.

---

The next day, Kira and Conner were sitting outside, eating lunch and talking.

"Conner, you totally invaded his privacy." Kira said softly. He had just told her about him listening to Eric's side of the conversation.

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Conner sighed as he put a chip in his mouth. "I just……I'm worried about my brother, okay?" He said. Ethan came over and sat with them.

"Hey guys." He said. He looked a little less miserable as he did the night before.

"Hey, what's up?" Kira asked. Ethan smiled.

"Naomi and I talked last night."

"Yeah, we know, it didn't go well."

"No, after that. We talked later last night."

"And..?" Ethan said.

"Well, we don't have to worry about her being pissed at us."

"Worry about who being pissed at you?" Naomi asked with a smile as she sat down beside Kira.

"Uh…..Hey." Kira said, kind of surprised. Naomi looked at Ethan and the two laughed.

"Wow, weirdness." Naomi said.

"Uh, well, it is a little surprising to see you here." Conner said. "Getting one on one interviews for the exposing article?" He asked.

"Conner." Ethan reprimanded.

"No, no, I deserved that." Naomi said. "I'll admit, I've been bitchy mcbitch lately, and I'm sorry. I was just…Well, being a bitchy mcbitch I guess. I'm sorry you guys."

"Naomi!" Yelled a voice. Everyone turned to see Trent standing off to the side, not looking very pleased. He walked over. "What's going on here?"

"Hey man, want a seat?" Ethan asked, trying to be civil, even though he didn't exactly like the guy.

"No." He turned to Naomi. "Come on, I got us a table."

"Why don't we just sit here?" She asked. Trent narrowed his eyes.

"No thanks. I'll see you later." Trent snarled as he stalked off. Naomi watched him leave.

"I should probably talk to him." Naomi said. "I'll be back." She said. She got up and followed Trent. She found him sitting at a table alone. "You okay?" She asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just thought you should have told me if you were dumping me." He said.

"I'm not dumping you."

"Well, you're sitting with them, so I just thought-"

"Just because I'm talking to my friends, doesn't mean I'm dumping you." Naomi said.

"Fine, whatever, go hang out with them." He said.

"Well, that tone really tells me you're okay. Do you want to do something tonight?" She asked. Trent looked at her.

"No, I'm working tonight." He said.

"Okay, I'll come over and we can hang out while on your break." She said.

"Yeah, sure, whatever." He said. Naomi sighed and went back to the others.

"Everything all right?" Ethan asked when she sat down. He decided to be the good friend and at least pretend that he was concerned about her relationship.

"Yeah. I guess he just needs to sulk for a bit." Naomi said. She looked at Conner and Kira. "So, how much butt kissing do I need to do for me to be cool with you two?" She asked.

"Hmm, we'll get back to you on that." Kira joked; glad to see Naomi was friends with them again.


	20. Golden retriever or Crazed being?

"So, are you going to go to Cyberspace tonight?" Ethan asked. He and Naomi were walking together after school.

"I think so. Trent seemed a little upset, so I should probably try and make him feel better. I'm pretty sure he's got his sulking need out." Naomi said. Ethan looked at her.

"Can I ask you something?" He asked.

"Yeah, sure."

"What do you see in him?" Ethan asked. Naomi looked at him and heaved a heavy sigh.

"Ethan, you said this wouldn't be weird." She said.

"I know, I know, I just…Humor me, please?" He asked. Naomi sighed.

"Well, he's sweet………..caring………..and…." She paused. "….Loyal….He's been there for me these past couple of days….."

"Sounds like a golden retriever." Ethan said. Naomi rolled her eyes and playfully shoved him.

"Whatever." She said.

---

Kimberly was sitting in her office when she heard someone knock on her door.

"Come in." She said. The door opened and she saw Tommy and Trini walk in.

"Hey, I found this just out somewhere and I figured it belonged to you, so, I figured I'd come by." Tommy joked. He was carrying Trini like a sack of potatoes. Kimberly giggled and stood up.

"Hmmm…No, I don't think it's mine." She said.

"Mommy!" Trini protested. Kimberly laughed. She came over and took Trini from Tommy, tickling her sides.

"Oh, now that I think of it, it's mine." She said. Trini giggled. Kimberly set her down and went over to Tommy. "Hey." She said. She put her hand behind his neck and pulled him in for a kiss. Tommy happily responded.

"Hey." He smiled when they pulled apart.

"Yucky." Trini said, making a face at the display of affection. Kimberly and Tommy laughed.

"So, you said this morning you wanted us to come by after school, what's up?" Tommy asked. Kimberly's smile slowly faded as she stepped away.

"I thought Trini should see someone." She said softly. Tommy looked down.

"Do you think that's a good idea? I mean, she's really young and-" Tommy said, not wanting to see the little girl that he had grown attached to in the last few days upset.

"I thought long and hard about this. I haven't let her seen him since.._it _happened, and he's such an important person in both our lives, I think she deserves to see him." She said. Tommy decided that as Trini's mother, she knew best and decided to let her go with it. Kimberly went over to Trini and took her hand. "Hey, sweetie, I need to go see a friend, how about you come with me?" She asked. Trini nodded.

"Okay, mommy." She said. Kimberly went to the door.

"I'll..Stay here." Tommy said. He wasn't ready to see Jason again. Kimberly nodded, understanding. Kimberly left the office with Trini. They walked to Jason's room and walked in. Trini stood by the door with her mother. Kimberly knelt beside her.

"Do you remember mommy's friend, Jason?" She asked.

"Uh huh. He was the nice man who stayed with us for a while a long time ago." Trini said.

"That's right. Well, he's over there." Kimberly said, pointing to Jason's virtually lifeless body on the bed. Trini walked over to Jason and looked at him. She looked back at her mother.

"Is he sleeping?" She asked. Kimberly's voice caught in her throat. Maybe Tommy was right. Trini wasn't old enough to understand what was wrong.

"Yeah, baby, he's sleeping." She said. She came over beside Trini.

"So, we gotta be quiet, right?" Trini said. Kimberly gently stoked Trini's forehead.

"Well, Jason's a heavy sleeper." Kimberly smiled softly. Trini looked at Jason.

"He's really tried from going away, right?" Trini asked. Kimberly remembered that when Jason first got in the coma, Trini would ask why Jason wasn't around and Kimberly told her that he was just away on a long trip.

"Yeah. He's really tried." Kimberly said. Trini leaned down and kissed Jason's hand.

"Sleep tight, Uncle Jason." She said. Her child's innocence was enough to bring tears to Kimberly's eyes. Trini looked at her mother. "Mommy? Why are you crying?" She asked. Kimberly wiped at her eyes.

"Well, I just want Uncle Jason to wake up, baby."

"So he can play with us?" Trini asked.

"Yeah." Kimberly said. Kimberly sat down on the nearby chair and Trini climbed up in her lap. Kimberly held her close.

"Mommy?" Trini asked.

"What is it?" Kimberly asked.

"Is Tommy going to be my daddy?" She asked. Kimberly was surprised by that and looked at her.

"What?"

"Is Tommy going to be my daddy?" Trini asked again.

"Whatever gave you that idea?" Kimberly asked.

"Well, cause Uncle Carter and Aunt Dana live together and they kiss a lot too, and he's going to be a daddy. So, Tommy's my daddy, right?"

"No, baby, Tommy's not your daddy." Kimberly said softly. Trini looked down.

"Oh." Trini said, clearly disappointed. "I like Tommy."

"I like him too." Kimberly said.

"I want him to be my daddy." Trini said, resting her head against Kimberly's chest.

"Yeah, so do I, sweetie, so do I." Kimberly said. Kimberly kissed the top of Trini's head. "You want to go back and hang out with Tommy?" Trini nodded.

"Yeah. And then, when Uncle Jason wakes up, he can hang out with us too." Trini said, sliding off her mother's lap. Kimberly wiped at her eyes again, removing any traces that she had been crying and stood up.

"Well, Jason might be sleeping for a little while longer, but I'm sure that when he wakes up, that's the first thing he's going to want to do." Kimberly promised. Trini smiled. She went over to Jason and practically draped herself over him. She planted a big kiss on his cheek.

"See you later, Uncle Jason." She whispered. Kimberly smiled and the two walked out of the room.

---

Mesogog was sitting on his throne, contemplating his next attack on the rangers when Elsa walked into the room, holding some papers.

"Master, may I have the pleasure of your audience for one moment?" She requested. Mesogog looked at her.

"What is it, Elsa?" He said in his slow paced speech. Elsa approached him and stood at the side of his chair. She presented the papers to him.

"I run some tests on what we did to the white dino gem to make it be evil…and I thought you should be made aware of my findings." She said. Mesogog looked over the papers.

"Well, this is rather interesting." He said.

"Yes, master. It seems that the longer the gem is affecting Trent's mind, the more it will deteriorate it. In just a matter of weeks or months, he might become just some crazed being." Elsa said. "I just thought I should bring this to your attention, since he is your son." Elsa added, figuring he'd want the gem to be taken away from Trent immediately.

"The gem still gives us his loyalty, correct?" Mesogog asked.

"Yes." Elsa said. Mesogog simply tossed the papers aside.

"As long as the crazed being is fighting against the rangers, I really do not care." Mesogog said. "Now, do not disturb me again unless it is to tell me something **important**." He hissed. Elsa slowly backed away.

"Yes master, my apologies, master." Elsa said, leaving him be.


	21. Exposed

Author's note: Towards the end of the chapter, some not so nice and politically correct terms are used. They in no way reflect beliefs of myself (Becky) or teal.

---

A few days passed. It seemed that Naomi was able to ease Trent's worries because the two seemed inseparable, much to Ethan's misery. She'd occasionally spend time with Ethan and the others, but most of her time was spent with Trent. Kimberly, Tommy and Trini seemed to be falling into the happy family routine. They had even gone to Dana and Carter's guest home to pick up the rest of the girls' things, leaving Dana and Carter to believe that "staying with Tommy for a little while" was more like "staying with Tommy permanently." Which didn't bother the married couple at all. The phrase "It's about time." Was muttered between them plenty times as they watched Tommy and Kimberly load his jeep and her car with bags. Kira and Conner were happy together, although Conner grew more and more anxious as the McKnight/Ford family dinner came closer and closer. Kira told him over and over that everything was going to be fine, but Conner was convinced that his mother would say or do something to completely mortify him in front of the love of his life and her parents. Eric was still behaving oddly, which didn't exactly reduce Conner's stress, but he decided to put Eric on the backburner and concentrate on the new identity he'd have to assume after the family dinner. And on this particular day, Saturday, to be exact, Conner was a wreck.

"Dude, chill out. Mom's not going to embarrass you in front of your future in-laws." Eric chuckled. He, Kira and Conner were at the mall. They were in the clothing store and Kira was in the music store buying new guitar strings. Conner went over to him and grabbed his shoulder.

"Dude, don't say that. What if Kira had come over and heard you?" Conner asked.

"She's not even in this store." Eric pointed out.

"Yeah, but with my luck, she would've been right behind us when you said that. Ever since that night were we narrowly avoided breaking up, we've left the whole 'love' subject alone, and referring to her parents as my 'future in-laws' isn't exactly leaving the subject alone." Conner said. Eric sighed and picked out a couple of jeans.

"Whatever, man. I'm sure that Kira's parents will get along with you and mom." Eric said.

"Well, what about you?" Conner asked as he followed his brother.

"What about me?" Eric asked.

"Well, you're going to be eating with us, right?"

"…..I didn't think I was invited." Eric shrugged.

"What? You're _so_ invited." Conner said.

"Who's _so_ invited to what?" Came Kira's voice as she suddenly appeared beside her boyfriend.

"Jeez!" Conner jumped, clearly startled.

"…Great to see you too." Kira said.

"Sorry, you just kind of caught me by surprise." Conner said, putting an arm around Kira's shoulder.

"I figured." She said. "So, who's so invited to what?" She asked.

"My brother for some bizarre reason thought he wasn't invited to dinner tomorrow." Conner said. Kira looked at Eric and gently swatted his arm.

"You're _so_ invited." She said. Eric rolled his eyes.

"You two are beginning to sound alike. Quick, break up now while it's still reversible." Eric smirked. He grabbed some jeans and shirts and went to a changing room. Kira leaned her head against Conner's shoulder.

"Still no luck in finding out what's up with him?" She asked.

"I've suspended my investigation for now." Conner said. After a while, the three teens left the store with Eric carrying some bags. "Anyway, tomorrow night is a family dinner, you're family, so you've got to be there." Conner said, continuing their conversation.

"You just want me there so I'll run interference so mom won't bring out the baby pictures. Like the one with mom bathing you in the sink." Eric smirked. Kira looked at him.

"Awww." She teased. "Can I see it?"

"No." Conner said, turning to her and then looking back at his brother. "ix-nay on the ictures-pay." He growled.

"You know what, I'll go, just to make sure mom does show that picture." Eric grinned.

"Thanks a lot." Conner sighed.

---

Kimberly, Tommy and Trini were bringing bags from the two cars. Trini had taken her things up as Kimberly and Tommy brought things into the house.

"Hey, Kim?" Tommy said as he set a bag down.

"Yeah?" She asked.

"I was wondering, well, that room you and Trini are staying in just has one bed and it seems kind of silly to have you two share it, so maybe…" He said, his voice trailing off. Kimberly gave him a look.

"What are you suggesting, Dr. Oliver?" She asked. Tommy's face instantly matched the color of his former ranger suit. (A/N: Red…not green. He's embarrassed, not getting sick.)

"No, no, not _that_." He said quickly. "I mean…you can take my room, and I'll sleep on the couch." Kimberly crossed her arms.

"Nice save." She smirked. Tommy chuckled.

"Thanks." He said.

"Anyway, I'd never dream of banishing you to the couch." She then grinned. "And as for _that_," she said, pausing. "I'll think about it." She said, picking up a bag and taking it upstairs, leaving Tommy slightly surprised and of course, hopeful.

---

Saturday quickly ended. Sunday afternoon rolled around and Conner was running around like a madman. Eric and Mrs. McKnight were sitting on the couch, watching him with amused expressions.

"Hey, bro, you better slow down or else you'll be to exhausted for dinner tonight." Eric pointed out. Conner didn't listen to him as he straightened up the house. He then walked up to them.

"Mom," he panted out as he tried to catch his breath. "Where are the photo albums?" He asked. Mrs. McKnight gave him a puzzled look.

"In the bookcase, same as they've always been." She said. "But, why-" Conner didn't give her a chance to finish before he made a beeline to the bookcase. Mrs. McKnight followed. "What in the world are you doing?" She asked. Conner pulled out all the photo albums.

"Just some insurance, don't want you embarrassing me with a baby picture show and tell." Conner explained.

"Conner Alan McKnight, what makes you think I'd ever embarrasses you?" She asked innocently. Conner gave her a look. She sighed. "Oh, honey, I'm sure Mr. And Mrs. Ford would like to see them."

"I doubt it." Conner said, and with that he went to hide the albums in his room. Mrs. McKnight sighed and went to the kitchen to start cooking dinner.

"Eric, can you set the table?" She asked from the kitchen.

"Sure." Eric said, getting up. After Conner hid the albums he took a shower and changed into black slacks and a red sweater over a white shirt. He carefully combed his hair, wanting to make the best impression on Kira's parents.

"Well, look at you." Came Eric's voice. Conner turned to see him standing in his doorway. Eric was wearing jeans and a white button down shirt.

"You changed." Conner observed. Eric shrugged.

"Yeah, well you want to come off as the perfect guy to Kira's folks, and I guess your twin brother dressed in a t-shirt wouldn't really help. Especially since they might mistake me for you at first. I mean, we both know Kira did." Eric said with a smirk. Conner glared at him.

"I'd beat you right now, but I'd rather not mess up my hair. But later, you better watch it." He warned. Eric chuckled and walked out. Pretty soon the doorbell rang, indicating the arrival of the Fords. Conner quickly made his way downstairs, nearly colliding with his mother who was coming out of her room. "Sorry mom." He said quickly as he took the stairs two steps at a time. Mrs. McKnight chuckled softly as Eric joined her and the two calmly followed Conner. The three McKnights gathered around the door.

"Well, are you going to open the door?" Eric asked his brother.

"Can't..Too nervous." Conner said. Mrs. McKnight rolled her eyes and walked up to the door, opening it. The sight that greeted them shocked Conner beyond belief. There stood Kira, but she certainly didn't look like Kira. She wasn't wearing the black eyeliner and general normal Kira attire. Instead, she wore subtle makeup and a yellow dress with her hair pulled back in a hairclip. Behind her stood Mr. And Mrs. Ford. Mrs. McKnight smiled at them and greeted them as she stepped aside to let them in.

"It's so nice to finally meet you." Mrs. McKnight said to Kira's parents. Mrs. Ford smiled.

"Yes, it's nice to finally meet you too." She said. Kira smiled and walked over to stand by Conner and Eric. Conner was still in his shocked/nervous trance and had yet to say anything. Kira gently squeezed his hand, bringing him back to reality.

"Oh, uh, yeah. Thanks for coming over." He stammered out nervously. Kira's parents looked at Conner and Eric.

"So, which one of you two is dating my baby girl?" Mr. Ford asked, his eyes saying that whichever one of the boys answered would not be his favorite person in the world.

"Jake." Mrs. Ford reprimanded. She looked at them. She knew right away which was which. "You must be Eric, Conner's brother. Kira's told us about you." She said, shaking Eric's hand.

"Really? Because Kira never mentioned she had a lovely younger sister." Eric said with a smile, laying on the charm. Mrs. Ford giggled softly.

"Why don't we all go sit…..in the living room?" Conner blurted out, his voice quivering slightly. Mrs. McKnight bit her cheek to keep from laughing.

"Yes, why don't we do that?" She suggested. The two families made their way to the living room. Conner sat in the loveseat. Kira went to sit beside him but her father "accidentally" blocked her way, making her sit on the couch with him and her mother. Mrs. McKnight sat beside Conner and Eric sat on one of the easy chairs. The parents began making idle chitchat, with Eric chiming in every so often, leaving Conner and Kira sitting there, both feeling embarrassed and awkward. Mrs. McKnight saw that the two of them were quiet.

"Kira, why don't you help Conner get some drinks for us all?" She suggested.

"Sure." Kira said, standing up. Conner looked at his mother. He mouthed 'thank you' and got up, leading Kira to the kitchen. The two of them went into the kitchen and she stood by the counter as Conner brought out six glasses. "You okay?" She asked, seeing how Conner was avoiding her gaze.

"Uh huh, yeah……Just dealing with the fact that your dad most likely wants my head on a stick." He sighed. Kira gave him a sympathetic smile.

"Sorry about that." She said. "Ever since that…well, you know……thing happened, he's been very protective of me when it comes to boys." She said, referring to her near death experience with Harold. Conner looked at her.

"It's okay. I understand." He said. "Wait, how many other boys have their been?" He asked warily. Kira bit her lip.

"Not a lot, since they get scared off by my dad."

"I'm looking for a number here." Conner said, crossing his arms.

"All right, all right, it was just one other guy, a couple of months after it happened. It was just some guy who was in my band."

"And what happened to this guy?" Conner asked.

"We never went out again, he left the band, and I think he joined a monastery." Kira joked. Conner let out a breath.

"So not helping in the make your boyfriend feel better department." Conner said. Conner began putting ice in the cups.

"Oh, my mom doesn't like ice in her drinks." Kira said after he had put ice in all of the cups. Conner took one of the cups and dumped the ice out in the sink. He turned back to Kira.

"Anyway, don't worry. I have no intentions of joining a monastery." Conner said. Kira smiled and walked over to him, putting her arms around his waist.

"I'm pretty sure that after my dad sees you for the decent guy you are, he'll ease up." Kira assured him. At that moment, they heard Mr. Ford laugh at something Eric had said.

"Either that, or he'll wish you were dating the other brother." Conner sighed as he poured soda in all the cups. He grabbed a tray they had nearby and loaded the cups onto it. Kira held the swinging door open for him as he carefully brought out the drinks. Before he made his way out, he looked at her. "By the way, love the outfit." He smirked. Kira gave him a mean look.

"Haha." She said dryly. Conner chuckled as he walked to the living room. Kira grabbed the ice-less cup and handed it to her mother.

"Thank you." She said. Kira handed another cup to her father and took one for herself as she sat down. Conner handed Eric and his mother cups and then took one for himself.

"So, Conner," Mrs. Ford began. "Kira's told us you play soccer." She said. Conner took a sip of his soda and set it down on the coffee table.

"Yes ma'am."

"Football is more of a man's game, isn't it?" Mr. Ford asked.

"Dad!" "Jake!" Both Ford women said at the same time. Conner simply laughed softly and let it roll off his back.

"Ya got me." He said. "I'm not one for the whole killing each other factor from football." He smiled. Kira gave Conner a smile.

"Well, I know I've enjoyed knowing that any injuries he might get in soccer are minimal, unlike football." Mrs. McKnight said, patting her son on the knee.

"You're right, football is a bit of a brutal game." Mrs. Ford said.

"Here, here." Mrs. McKnight said. She took a sip of her drink. Mr. Ford looked at Eric.

"What about you? You a man's man?" He asked. Mrs. McKnight choked on her drink. She coughed.

"Mom, you all right?" Conner asked, patting her back gently. She set her drink down and nodded.

"Yes, yes, sorry." She said. Eric looked at her then back at Mr. Ford. "Why don't we go and start dinner?" Mrs. McKnight suggested.

"Great idea, mom." Eric said quickly. Everyone stood up and went to the table. "Mom, why don't I help you bring in the food?" He said, going to the kitchen with her, leaving Conner and the Fords.

"So, Conner, are you planning on making a career of soccer?" Mr. Ford asked.

"Well, that is a dream of mine. But I know that professional sports can be a fickle thing, not to mention very hard to get into, so I'm keeping my head in schoolwork for now." He said, silently praying that was an acceptable response.

"Well, that is very wise and responsible of you." Mrs. Ford said with a smile.

"Thank you, Mrs. Ford." He said. Soon Eric and Mrs. McKnight came back in, bringing in the platters. After all of them were on the table, they sat down.

"Mrs. McKnight, dinner looks delicious." Kira said.

"Why thank you, Kira." Mrs. McKnight said. They all began filling their plates with food and began to eat.

"Hmmm, it doesn't just look delicious, it tastes wonderful." Mrs. Ford said.

"I agree. Margaret, you should definitely get the recipe for these mashed potatoes, they're amazing." Mr. Ford said.

"Are you suggesting my mashed potatoes aren't amazing?" Mrs. Ford asked. Mr. Ford's face paled, not meaning to insult his wife cooking.

"I.."

"Mrs. Ford, I'm sure your potatoes are simply to die for." Eric said. Mrs. Ford smiled.

"Thank you, Eric." She said. Kira leaned over to Conner.

"Is it just me or did that just sound so totally wrong?" Kira whispered to him.

"Nope, I picked up on it too." He whispered back. The two families continued their meal. After they were done, Mrs. McKnight began to clear the plates. Kira slid her chair back.

"Let me help you with those, Mrs. McKnight." She offered. Mrs. McKnight smiled.

"It's all right, dear, you're our guest. Just sit and relax." She insisted.

"Are you sure?" Kira asked.

"I think mom's implying that we help." Eric said to Conner. Everyone laughed as the two McKnight boys help clear the table. The three of them disappeared into the kitchen. Kira turned to her father.

"Dad, can you please tone down the hostility towards my boyfriend?" Kira hissed.

"Yes, really Jake. You're scaring the poor boy." Mrs. Ford said.

"That's the plan." Mr. Ford said.

"**Dad**." Kira said, making her voice stern. "Look, I really like Conner and I don't want you scaring him off."

"Is it a crime for a father to be concerned for his daughter?" Mr. Ford asked innocently. Kira groaned.

"Mom, help me out here." She pleaded.

"Jake, dear, if you're so concerned about Conner, why don't you talk to him?" Mrs. Ford said, trying to play peacemaker between the two important people in her life.

"I've been talking to him." Mr. Ford said.

"No, you've been attacking him." Kira pointed out. "Don't make me make the face." She warned. Mr. Ford looked at her.

"Kira-"

"You better listen to her." Mrs. Ford said.

"I'm not-" Mr. Ford began, objecting to this. Kira cut him off by frowning and making big puppy dog eyes at her father. It was the one perk that came with being an only child, plus an only daughter-her father melted when she made that face.

"It's not going to work." Mr. Ford said, holding his ground. "Mar-" He began, looking to his wife for support, only to see her making the same face. "Oh, come on!" He groaned. It was one thing for his daughter to do it, but for his daughter and wife to do it was just torture. He couldn't say no to that. "Fine." He said. Kira smiled.

"Great, I'll go get Conner." She said. She got up and went to the kitchen. The McKnights were busy loading the dishwasher. "Conner?" She said. Conner looked up.

"Yeah?" He asked.

"My dad wants to talk to you." She said. Conner's face instantly filled with fear.

"Is that code for he wants to kill me?" He asked. Kira rolled her eyes and grabbed his hand. "Come on, just go for a walk with him." She said. Conner looked at Eric.

"Good luck, bro." Eric said. Conner sighed and let Kira lead him out.

---

Conner and Mr. Ford left the house and were walking down the street in silence.

"Just so you know, Kira insisted that I talk to you." Mr. Ford said. Conner sighed.

"I figured."

"My daughter likes you a lot." Mr. Ford said. "But I don't."

"Again, I figured." Conner said. The two found themselves in the park. Conner stopped and looked at Mr. Ford. "Mr. Ford, sir, I understand that you want to protect Kira, really I do."

"Well, glad you understand that." Mr. Ford said.

"I do. And, I hope you'll understand that I really care about Kira." He saw a bench and led Mr. Ford to it, he gestured for the man to have a seat. They both sat down. "Kira told me about what happened between her and that guy, Harold, and I just want you to know that I would never do that. I mean, when Kira told me what he did to her, I felt sick to my stomach."

"Kira told you?" Mr. Ford asked.

"Yes sir." Conner nodded. Mr. Ford sat back, processing this.

"Kira wouldn't just tell anyone about this. I guess you mean a lot to her." Mr. Ford said. The fact that Kira had told Conner what had happened drove it home to him. Conner wasn't just some fling. It looked like he might be around for a while.

"And she means a lot to me." Conner said, bringing him out of his thoughts. Conner sighed. "But I know you're her father, and I'm just her boyfriend, so of course the two don't compare." Conner added. "I don't want to cause any problems between you two, and if you aren't comfortable with this, I'll….." Conner took a deep breath. "I'll respect your wishes and stop seeing your daughter." Conner almost had to force that sentence out. He loved Kira, there was no part of him that wanted to let her go, but he didn't want to make Mr. Ford uncomfortable or angry. Conner leaned against his knees, preparing himself for the worse. Mr. Ford looked at him. He realized that Conner meant it.

"Well, now, I can't have that. I mean, if you do that, Kira would most likely be miserable and never speak to me again." Mr. Ford finally said. Conner's eyes widened and he looked at him. "Now, I can expect you to treat my little girl with respect, right?" Conner nodded fiercely.

"Of course, sir." Conner said. "The utmost respect."

"Well, I guess we should head back." Mr. Ford said. Conner smiled as they headed back to the house. As they went to open the door, it swung open to reveal Eric.

"Just so you know, I had absolutely nothing to do with this." Eric said.

"Nothing to do with what?" Conner asked.

"Oh, how precious!" Came Mrs. Ford's voice. Mr. Ford and Conner walked in. Conner paled at the sight before him. His mother was sitting on the couch with Kira and Mrs. Ford on either side of her. She had a photo album on her lab and the other two women were looking at the pictures.

"How.." Conner asked, his voice coming out in a squeak.

"She had one of the albums hidden." Eric said.

"I knew I should've taken inventory before I hid the other ones." Conner groaned.

"She's showing them pictures of both of us." Eric said. Mr. Ford couldn't help chuckle.

"And this one is my favorite. Eric and Conner were being my little cowboys." Mrs. McKnight laughed.

"Oh no, not that…" Conner groaned.

"Oh yeah, that." Eric groaned. Kira stood up and walked over to Conner and Eric, wrapping her arms around Conner's waist.

"Any particular reason you two are wearing just the hats?" She asked them. The two of them remembered that picture well. They were both lying on their stomachs on a blanket, barely one year old, with little cowboy hats on their heads.

"I'll tell you after I tell Ethan about what you're wearing now." Conner countered.

"Okay, shutting up now." Kira said.

"Figured as much." Conner said, kissing her forehead.

--

"Wait, let me get this straight, his mom brought out the baby pictures?" Ethan asked between chuckles. He was sitting in the lunchroom with Kira the following day.

"Uh huh." She laughed. She looked up and saw Conner and Eric walking over. "Shh, shh!" She said, quieting him down so they didn't know she had told Ethan. Conner sat down next to her and Eric took the spot next to Ethan.

"Hey guys." Conner said. Ethan snorted, his laughter escaping.

"Howdy cowboys!" He laughed. Eric and Conner glared at Kira.

"You told him?!" They both said.

"Sorry, it slipped." Kira said. Conner narrowed his eyes and looked at Ethan.

"Well, you should've seen what she was wearing last night." Conner said. Kira chuckled.

"You're too late." She said. "I already told him that my mom forced me to be all girly."

"Bro, I officially hate your girlfriend." Eric said.

"Right there with ya, man." Conner groaned. Kira laughed.

"You don't hate me." She said to Conner.

"Oh yes I do." Conner said. Kira leaned in and gave him a passionate kiss.

"Yes you do what?" She asked after they pulled apart.

"What was I saying again?" Conner asked. Kira giggled and leaned her head against his shoulder.

---

A week passed and Conner had taken up the investigation on Eric again, but he had yet to find out what was going on.

"Maybe there's nothing going on." Kira said. She and Conner were talking by the soccer field in the park on a Saturday afternoon.

"I don't buy that. He's hiding something, I know it." Conner said. "I just wish he'd tell me what it was." Kira put an arm around his shoulders.

"If there is something going on, I'm sure he'll tell you." She said, kissing his cheek. "Hey, how about I go get us some hotdogs?" She suggested. Conner smiled.

"Sounds good." He said. He reached into his pocket to get money. Kira shook her head.

"I got it." She said.

"Are you sure? I mean-"

"Conner, if you're going to pull the whole 'I'm the guy, I must pay' thing, I'll be forced to hurt you." She said, cutting him off. Conner laughed.

"All right." He said.

---

Naomi and Trent were sitting in his house, watching T.V. Trent was busy flipping channels, not really acknowledging her. Naomi looked at him.

"Well, as stimulating as watching you channel surf is, I think I'm going to go." Naomi sighed, standing up.

"Going to go hang out wit Ethan?" Trent asked, his eyes still on the T.V. Naomi sighed. He had been doing this jealousy dance for days.

"Trent, I'm not going to dignify your jealousy with a response." She said. She went to the door. In an instant, Trent was right by her. He grabbed her wrist in a tight grip, making her turn to face him.

"You're not going anywhere." He growled. Naomi struggled to pull out of his grasp.

"Trent, let me go, you're hurting me." She said, scared. Trent ignored her.

"You're **my **girlfriend, and you're not going to go behind my back with some other guy." Trent hissed.

"I haven't gone behind your back about anything." Naomi said, still trying to get out of his grip. "Now let me go." She ordered. Trent blinked and quickly let her go. Naomi stepped back, rubbing her sore wrists. Trent stared at her. "I'm out of here." Naomi said as she quickly left the house. Trent took several deep breaths. _What just happened? _He asked himself. _Since when have I felt possessive of Naomi? It's not like I have actual feelings for her. _Trent sat down with a sigh.

---

Kira paid the hot dog vender at the park as she picked up the cardboard carrier that held the hot dogs she got for herself and Conner and picked up the two soda cans.

"Thank you." The vendor said as he handed Kira her change.

"Have a nice day." Kira said. She went to go back to Conner when she almost bumped into someone. "Oh gosh, I'm sorry." Kira said, stopping short. She looked up to see a man who looked like he was middle-aged with dark short hair that was speckled with a few gray hairs.

"That's quite all right." The man said. He stepped aside and kept walking. Kira walked to the soccer field and sat down beside Conner. She put the hotdogs between them and handed him a can of soda. Conner smiled.

"Thanks." He said. He leaned over and kissed her on the lips softly. Kira kissed him back and the two began eating their lunch. Later that night, the two of them went back to Conner's house and were now in his room with Eric. She sat with them on the floor as the two brothers played video games.

"Where's your mom?" Kira asked the two of them.

"She went to some business dinner or something." Eric said, his eyes still glued to the screen, shrugging.

"Oh." Kira said. Kira sat back and watched them play for another hour or so. They decided it was enough for the moment and shut off the game. Conner turned to the other two.

"So, should we order pizza?" Conner asked.

"Sounds good to me." Eric said.

"Uh huh." Kira said. The three teens made their way downstairs. Just as Conner was about to pick up the phone to order, the doorbell rang.

"Whoa, that was weird." Conner said. He walked to the door and opened it, and was shocked to see who was there. "D-Dad?" He stammered. Eric and Kira heard him. Eric looked down and sat down at the kitchen counter. Kira went out to see a man walk into the house. Kira was a little surprised to see it was the man she had nearly bumped into in the park. The man smiled at Conner.

"It's good to see you, son." He said. He caught sight of Kira. "Oh, hello." He said. Conner looked over at Kira.

"Oh, sorry, this is Kira, my girlfriend." Conner said, still trying to get over the shock of seeing his father there.

"We met in the park." Kira said. "Well, I mean, I didn't know he was your dad." Kira added. Conner looked at his father.

"So, what are you doing here?" He asked. "Did you want to talk to Eric?"

"No it-"

"I'll get him." Kira said. She disappeared into the kitchen and came back with Eric. His eyes were glued to the floor.

"I actually came to talk to you." Mr. McKnight said to Conner. Kira noticed that he didn't even look at Eric.

"I'll be in my room if anyone needs me." Eric muttered. He couldn't have walked up those stairs any faster. Kira stared at his retreating form with a confused expression.

"Oh." Conner said. "Do you want to sit?" Conner asked. Mr. McKnight nodded and the two sat in the living room.

"I'll leave you two alone." Kira said. She went to go talk to Eric. Mr. McKnight watched her leave and looked at Conner.

"She seems nice, a little to much eye makeup though." He said.

"Dad, I'm sure you didn't come to Reefside to meet and criticize my girlfriend." Conner said.

"You're right, I'm sorry." He said. "Quit acting so suspicious. Is it a crime for a man to want to see his son?"

"Sons, you mean." Conner said. "Right?" He asked. Mr. McKnight remained silent.

---

Kira walked into Eric's room to see him shoving clothes into a duffel bag.

"Eric?" She asked. "What are you doing?"

"Packing, what does it look like?" He said, not looking at her. His voice sounded off, as if he was on the verge of an emotional breakdown. "I don't think I'm going to be wanted around here much longer." He said. Kira made another confused face and walked over to him.

"What are you talking about?" She asked, touching his shoulder, forcing him to look at her. Eric stared at her. His chin quivered as he sat down on his bed. He held his face in his hands and started to cry. Kira sat beside him. "Eric, what is it?" She asked.

--

"Fine, I'll admit, I did have another reason for coming here." Mr. McKnight finally said. Conner looked at him, waiting for him to continue. "I was wondering, how would you like to move to Blue Bay and live with me?" He asked. Conner's eyes widened and his mouth fell open, unsure how to respond to that.

"Wh-What?" He asked. "Wh-Why?"

"Can't a father want his son to live with him?" Mr. McKnight asked. Conner narrowed his eyes.

"What, is this some McKnight son switch-up? You had Eric for nearly a decade, and now you're bored with him and want the other twin?" Conner asked.

"What? Of course not!" Mr. McKnight said.

"Well, I can't go. My friends are here. My school is here. My girlfriend is here." Conner said. _Not to mention, I'm a power ranger here. _He thought to himself.

"You'll get new friends, new school, and a new girlfriend." Mr. McKnight said. Conner glared at him.

"I don't _want _new friends or new school, and definitely not a new girlfriend." Conner said. Mr. McKnight was beginning to get angry.

"Conner, I don't want you staying here."

"What are you talking about? I _live _here!"

"Well, I don't like how things are in this house now." Mr. McKnight said.

"What? I don't know what the hell you're talking about. I think you should leave." Conner said. Mr. McKnight jumped to his feet.

"I will not just go and leave you here to be corrupted by your brother!" He yelled. Conner looked at him.

"What?"

"Eric is a sick disturbed boy, and I'm not going to let him influence you."

"What are you talking about?" Conner asked. Did his father know what was going on with Eric?

"The fact that your mother thinks it's perfectly all right to have him here makes me sick." Mr. McKnight rambled on, completely furious.

"Mom knows?" Conner said, letting his curiosity get the best of him.

"Of course she knows. Your sissy brother told her after I kicked his ass out of my house."

"You kicked him out?" Conner asked.

"Of course I did, why the hell would I want that freak in my house?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Conner demanded, not understanding what was going on at all. Mr. McKnight turned to him.

"What? You mean, you don't know?" He asked.

"Know what?" Conner asked, getting frustrated.

"Your brother is a sick pervert."

"What? What do you mean?" Conner asked.

"He's a fucking faggot!" Mr. McKnight yelled.

---

Kira and Eric could hear what was going on downstairs. Kira's eyes widened as she looked at Eric who sobbed into his hands even harder. _Conner was right, there was something up with Eric. _She thought.

"Eric." She whispered softly. She put her arms around him. "It's okay, it's okay."

----

Conner's eyes widened. Mr. McKnight continued speaking.

"I walked in to my house and saw it going on. It was going on in my own house! He and some boy were in his room." Mr. McKnight looked like the mere memory of that was about to make him sick. Conner blinked, trying to process this new information. _Well, I guess that ends the investigation. Eric's gay. _He thought to himself.


	22. Bliss

Conner stared at his father.

"Get out." He said, his tone dripping with forced calmness.

"I'm not leaving unless you come with me." Mr. McKnight said.

"I'm not going anywhere. But you are." Conner said. He stalked up to his father and grabbed him roughly by the shoulder. He shoved him to the door. Conner pulled open the door and shoved his father out. "And don't even think about coming back." Conner said. And with that, he slammed the door on his father. Conner took a deep breath and walked up to his brother's room. He found Kira holding his sobbing brother. Conner stood by the door for a few minutes.

"Kira, can you go downstairs? I need to talk to my brother." Conner said. Kira stood up and walked up to him.

"Conner, I-" She began to protest.

"Kira." Conner said. Kira sighed and cast one last look at Eric before walking out of the room. Eric looked up at Conner, wiping his eyes.

"So," Eric said, sniffling. "Now you know." Conner walked up to Eric. Eric watched him, unsure how he was going to react.

"Yeah, I do." Conner said.

"Well, now what?" Eric asked, rising from the bed, his jaw tightening. "Are you going to beat me up? I mean, cause that's what dad did. Are you going to kick me out? Dad did that too. Are you-" Eric asked, getting more and more upset. Conner cut him off by quickly pulling him into a tight hug. Eric buried his face in Conner's shoulder and sobbed loudly. Conner held him even tighter.

"I'm not going to do any of that." Conner whispered to his brother. Eric continued crying. "You're my brother." Conner said, trying to comfort him. "This changes nothing." He swore. Eric pulled away and sat down on his bed.

"Of course it does." Eric said. "You heard dad, I'm-"

"So you like guys, big deal." Conner said. He sat down beside his brother. "I just wished I didn't have to find out the way I did."

"I'm sorry. I didn't know how to tell you. And, like, things were good. We were getting along like we used to when we were kids. I was afraid that you'd react like dad did and I don't think I could-"

"It's okay." Conner said. Eric wiped at his eyes. "There's just one thing I don't get." Conner said.

"What's that?"

"Well, when you first got here, you called Naomi a hottie." Conner said. Eric laughed through his tears.

"No offense to Naomi, but I would've said that about any girl who came up to me first. I just……Wanted to play the part of Hetero-boy." Conner laughed.

"I figured."

"So……..Are we…..really okay?" Eric asked. Conner nodded.

"Yeah." Conner saw Eric's duffle bag. "What was this for?"

"I…….I was sort of preparing for the worse. I figured that maybe I could go stay with Aunt Cheryl in Turtle Cove." Eric shrugged. Conner sighed. He couldn't help but feel a strong hatred for their father for making Eric feel this way.

"Hey, I do recall we wanted to order pizza." Conner said. "Let's go downstairs." He said. Eric smiled.

"All right." He said. The two brothers went downstairs, were they found Kira sitting down at the bottom of the stairs, wringing her hands nervously. "What's up with her?" Eric asked, pointing to Kira. Conner chuckled and shrugged.

"No clue." Conner said. They stepped over her and went to the kitchen. Kira looked at them.

"Hey!" She said as she got up. She ran over and jumped onto Conner's back. Conner laughed and caught her. He carried her piggyback to the kitchen. Conner ordered the pizza and Eric explained everything to him and Kira as they waited. Conner asked him about the phone call the other night and Eric told him it was his boyfriend, the guy their father had found them with. He told him about the afternoon when he was supposedly checking out school clubs. He actually met with a friend of his, Tally. She had given him a note from Kyle, his boyfriend and he gave her a note to him. The same thing happened when he supposedly went shopping with Mrs. McKnight. Conner and Kira listened to his story, both feeling bad that he had to hide so much from everyone. The pizza soon arrived and they all ate.

"So, when am I going to meet this guy who has swept my brother off his feet?" Conner asked with a smile.

"You want to meet Kyle?" Eric asked, surprised.

"Well, sure. I mean, it's only fair. You know my girlfriend, so I should get to meet your boyfriend." Conner said as he munched on his slice of pizza. Eric smiled.

"Okay. I'll call him tonight, see when's a good time to come up."

"Hey, maybe his parents can come and you can be a nervous wreck." Conner added with a smirk.

"I don't think so." Eric said. They all laughed. After they ate, Eric went to his room and got on the phone to call Kyle. Kira looked at Conner.

"You okay?" Kira asked. Conner nodded as he grabbed one of the last few slices.

"Yeah. I just.." He set the slice down on his plate. "I can't believe my dad was like that. I mean he acted as if Eric being homosexual would affect me, like it was contagious. He was just so heartless. I never understood what was it that made my parents split up…but after seeing how he could be so cold towards one of his own sons…now I wonder what she ever saw in him in the first place." Kira rubbed his back gently.

"At least Eric's got you and your mom." Kira said. "And he's got friends. I'm sure no one else would really give a hoot about it."

"Well, I'll leave the decision of whether or not anyone else should know up to Eric. It's his secret." Conner said. Kira smiled.

"Right." She said.

--

Eric dialed Kyle's number and waited.

"Hello?" Answered a voice. Eric instantly recognized it as Tally.

"Tally? What are you doing with Kyle's cell phone?"

"Eric?" She asked, confused. Her tone then changed to something so cold, Eric could've had frostbite. "What the hell do you want?"

"…What did I do?" Eric asked. Tally scoffed.

"Well, let's see, Kyle called you the other night and you proceeded to pick a fight with him, and then hung up on him. And to top it off, you didn't even try to call back and apologize until now, almost a week later? Do you know how upset he's been?" She asked. Eric sighed.

"I know, I'm sorry. Can I please just talk to him?"

"What, going to dump him to keep up the hetero-boy act?" Tally snapped.

"No! Goddamnit, Tally, let me talk to him!" Eric said, losing his patience. Tally sighed and Eric heard the phone exchanging hands.

"Hello?" Came Kyle's voice. Eric instantly felt awful. He could hear how depressed his boyfriend was from that tone.

"Kyle, hey." Eric said. "Look, I-"

"Why are you calling? I thought you said it wasn't a good idea for us to have any contact."

"I-I know that's what I said…….I'm sorry for hurting your feelings and hanging up on you the other night. I was just…"

"Scared?"

"Yeah." The two fell into silence. "My dad showed up here, in Reefside." Eric finally said.

"He what?" Kyle said, his voice going from depressed to a mixture of anger and concern. "What did he do?" When Eric had been kicked out of the house in Blue Bay, he hid out at Kyle's for a while as Kyle tried to nurse Eric's wounds and resist the urge to go and beat Mr. McKnight to a pulp. Eric had bruises on his chest and stomach, arms and face. Even after Eric had told his mom what had happened and she told him to come to Reefside, he stayed with Kyle until his wounds and bruises healed. He didn't tell his mom that Mr. McKnight had beaten him up and he didn't want her to know.

"He asked Conner to come live with him in Blue Bay." Eric said.

"Did he touch you?" Kyle asked, getting to the point.

"No, no, he didn't." Eric said. "Conner knows." Eric said. Kyle was silent. "And….It looks like I was afraid for nothing. Conner doesn't care. I mean, it's not like my dad…….I thought he was going to be so pissed, but he wasn't. We hugged and everything."

"Wow, that's great." Kyle said.

"So……I was wondering…….Maybe you can come here some day or something?"

"What?"

"Conner wants to meet you."

"I……..Uh……Are you sure?"

"Well, he told me himself, he wants to meet you."

"No, I mean….Don't you usually meet families unless it's….ya know serious." Kyle said. Eric's brows furrowed.

"Aren't we….Serious?" Eric asked.

"I………..Well……I just thought that……..I don't know…."

"Oh." Eric said, looking down.

"No, I mean, I think it's serious, I just didn't know if you did." Kyle said quickly. Eric smiled.

"So, are you going to come to Reefside willingly, or will I have to come and drag you here?" Eric asked. Kyle laughed.

"Well, I've got classes all this week." Kyle said. He was a sophomore at Blue Bay Harbor University, which sometimes made it difficult for him and Eric to go out on dates since he was busy studying and working since he had his own apartment and needed to pay rent.

"What about next Saturday?" Eric asked.

"I'm working next Saturday."

"Oh."

"But, how about next Sunday? I've got a day off." Kyle said. Eric smiled.

"Yeah."

"Okay. I'll see you then." Kyle said. "I've got to go."

"Okay." Eric went to hang up.

"Oh, Eric?" Kyle said quickly. Eric brought the phone back to his ear.

"Yeah?"

"I'm glad everything's okay….And……….I……..uh……love you.." He said quietly. Eric froze.

"Did you just say what I thought you just said?" Eric asked.

"Not unless you didn't-"

"Because, I love you too." Eric said. Eric could practically hear him grinning. "I'll talk to you later." He said. They both hung up. Eric couldn't help the big smile that formed on his lips.

----

The following day, Naomi had agreed to meet with Ethan at the mall to help him pick a gift out for his mother's birthday. She was sitting in the food court, looking at her wrist. A bruise had started forming around it from when Trent grabbed her. She took a deep breath and grabbed a bandanna from her bag and tied it around her wrist, hiding the bruise. A minute later, Ethan walked up to her.

"Hey." He said. Naomi put on a smile.

"Hey." She said. She stood up.

"You have absolutely no idea how grateful I am for-"

"Naomi." Came a voice. Both of them looked over to see Trent standing there. Naomi looked down.

"What are you doing here?" She asked.

"I called your house. Your mom said you were at the mall. I……I just wanted to talk."

"I'm busy right now." Naomi said. Trent clenched his fists, fighting the urge to grab her roughly and pull her away.

"Please?" He asked. Naomi looked at Ethan.

"I'll be right back." She said. She gave Trent a cold look and walked off to the side with Trent. They stood a few feet away from Ethan. He watched the two carefully, although he couldn't hear them.

"What do you want?" Naomi asked, her voice low.

"Look, about yesterday, I just……I wanted to apologize. You're right, I am jealous of you and Ethan hanging out together. I know Ethan has feelings for you and I just don't want him to steal you away from me."

"So you expressed that feeling by acting like a caveman and grabbing my wrist in a vice grip?" Naomi asked, crossing her arms.

"I'm sorry." Trent said. "Just, give me another chance, please?" He begged. Naomi looked at him and sighed.

"All right." She said softly. Trent smiled. He leaned in and kissed her. Naomi responded. Ethan sighed and looked away. Naomi looked at Trent.

"I'll see you later. I promised Ethan I'd help him shop for a present for his mom."

"Why don't I come with you guys?" Trent asked. Naomi gave him a look.

"Trent." She said. "You just have one more chance, don't blow it."

"All right, I get it." He said. He gave her one last kiss before walking off. Naomi sighed and walked back over to Ethan.

"Everything okay?" Ethan asked.

"Uh huh. Now, let's go shop for your mom's present." Naomi said as they walked to some stores.

---

That night, Tommy, Kimberly and Trini enjoyed a quiet dinner at home. They watched some family movie on T.V., or at least tried too. Half way into it, Trini fell asleep. Kimberly slowly took her up to the room and took her to bed. Tommy realized it was rather late so he decided to go to bed himself. He changed into his usual sleeping attire-boxers and a black muscle shirt and settled into bed. He couldn't seem to fall asleep so he decided to get some reading done. He lay in bed and read. A while later he heard a soft knock on his door. Tommy set his book down.

"Yeah?" He called out. The door opened to reveal Kimberly wearing black spandex shorts and a white shirt. "Kim, hey." He said. He felt a little embarrassed being caught in his sleepwear. _Jeez, you're an adult; don't act like a freaking teenager._

"Hey." Kimberly said. She walked into the room, shutting the door behind her.

"What's up?" Tommy asked, sitting up and putting his book aside. Kimberly shrugged.

"Couldn't sleep, just thought I'd come and see what you were doing." She said. She came over and sat down on the other side of the bed. Tommy's heart rammed against his chest. _She's on my bed. Okay, hormones, behave yourselves._ He thought to himself.

"Oh." Tommy said. He took off his glasses and set them on his nightstand. Kimberly looked at him and giggled. "What?" He asked.

"You're nervous about me sitting here." Kimberly pointed out. Tommy's cheeks turned red.

"N-no, I-I-I'm not. I have no idea what yo-you're talking about." Tommy stammered, looking away. Kimberly laughed.

"Right, your face is always that red." Kimberly said. Tommy groaned.

"All right, Kim, you're gonna get it." He said. He tackled her on the bed and began tickling her sides. Kimberly laughed.

"Stop! Stop! I'm sorry!" She said, squirming beneath him. Tommy continued tickling her. Kimberly continued laughing and squirming. After a while, Tommy stopped. Kimberly laughed a bit more. Tommy smiled and stared down at her. Kimberly looked up at him. "What?" She asked.

"Nothing." He said. "Just watching the most beautiful woman in the world." He said. Kimberly blushed. He leaned down and captured her lips in a passionate kiss. Kimberly put her arms around his shoulders and returned the kiss with equal feelings. The kiss evolved into an intense make-out session. Tommy rolled over to his side, he and Kim still not breaking lip contact. One of Kimberly's hands became buried in his hair. She moaned as she felt him leave a trail of kisses from her lips to her neck. He held her close, one of his hands slipping under the bottom of her shirt. Kimberly gasped at the feel of his hand on her skin. Tommy returned to her lips. His other hand slowly and gently ran down her leg. Kimberly was lost in a sea of passion and had no intentions of being found anytime soon. She was so engulfed in what was going on when she felt a sudden stiffness against her leg. She gasped softly. Tommy forced himself to pull away from Kim's lips. _Damn you, hormones! _He thought to himself.

"I…..I'm sorry." He said as he fought to catch his breath. "I….didn't.."

"Shh." Kimberly said softly. She stroked his cheek. "It's okay." She said, her eyes telling him all.

"Are you sure?" He asked. Kimberly smiled.

"I've never been sure-er of anything else in my life." She said. Tommy chuckled.

"Kimberly, 'sure-er' isn't a word." He said. Kimberly playfully groaned.

"Yeah, shut up now." Kimberly said. She leaned in and kissed him. They sat up. Tommy reached into his nightstand and produced a small foil package. Kimberly could've made a crack about him having condoms right there in his nightstand, but decided against ruining the mood. They met for yet another kiss as they slowly took off each other's clothing, what little of it there was. Tommy laid Kimberly down on the bed and simply stared at her.

"God, you're beautiful." He whispered.

"Are you going to just sit there all right?" She asked with a smirk. Tommy smiled and slowly got on top of her. Kimberly's smirk faded as they stared into each other's eyes. "I love you, Beautiful." He whispered.

"I love you too." She said. She placed a hand on his shoulder. "Just….Go slow. I haven't done this in a while." She said. Which was true, seeing as the last-well, and first-man she had slept with was Anton. Tommy kissed her as he slowly entered her. Kimberly moaned into his mouth. Kimberly felt like she was in heaven. Here she was, with the one man she had ever loved. Tommy gently kissed her neck as they moved together in perfect harmony. Kimberly moaned softly as she ran her hands up and down his back.

"Oh god." Tommy murmured against her throat as he sucked on the soft flesh of her neck. "Kimberly, I love you so much." She could only moan softly in response. After a while, Kimberly could feel her toes instinctively curling as she buried her head in Tommy shoulder. Tommy picked up his pace as he too felt himself reaching the edge. Kimberly breathed heavily as she felt herself getting closer and closer to her breaking point. Tommy kissed the edge of her mouth. She lifted her head up and the two kissed passionately. Kimberly climaxed with a soft cry, which was soon followed by Tommy's low groan as he did too. They fell in a heap of post coital bliss on the bed, gasping for air. Tommy slowly rolled to his side and held Kimberly close. Kimberly curled up against his chest feeling absolutely perfect. That had been a million times better then her night with Anton all those years ago, not that she had any doubts of that of course. She loved Tommy with all her heart and soul, and she knew Tommy loved her. She felt him plant several kisses on her forehead before she slowly drifted off to sleep. Tommy brought a hand up and gently stroked her hair before sleep took him over as well.


	23. Break ups and Brakes

The following morning, Tommy was awoken by his alarm going off. He shifted to his other side and threw his arm out, hitting the snooze button. He sighed. _Man, what a dream. _He thought to himself. He had dreamed that Kimberly had come to him the night before and the two of them made love.

"Mmmm." Came a soft sleepy moan as he felt gentle hands circle his waist. Tommy jumped and spun around to see Kimberly. She gave him a small smile. _Oh….right, it wasn't a dream. _He thought as a smile came to his lips. "Jumpy." She remarked. Tommy laughed softly.

"Sorry, I just…Forgot for a second." He admitted. Kimberly smiled, understanding. The night before felt so beyond perfect, even she thought it was all a dream at first. She slid over to him and kissed him softly. They broke apart slowly and Tommy reached over and swept some hair out of her face. "Sleep well?" He asked. Kimberly nodded, yawning.

"There's only one drawback." She said.

"What's that?"

"We have to get out of bed." Kimberly said with a pout. Tommy smiled.

"Good point." He said. He leaned in and was about to kiss her when the alarm went off again. Tommy groaned and Kimberly giggled. He sat up and shut off the wretched thing. He sat back and leaned against the headboard. "Do you want to use the shower first?" He asked.

"Sure, thanks." She said. She sat up and leaned over the side of the bed, trying to gather her clothes from the floor. The bed sheet slid down a bit, exposing her lower back and buttocks. Tommy sighed softly. Kimberly turned her head to the side. "Why, Dr. Oliver, are you checking out my ass?" She asked with a smirk. She picked up her shirt and shorts and placed them on the bed. Tommy grinned.

"Maybe." He said. Kimberly laughed. She kissed the tip of his nose and then pulled her shirt on. She then threw her legs over the side of the bed and pulled her shorts on. She smoothed her hair down a bit and got up. She walked over to Tommy's side and gave him one more kiss before she left the room. Tommy had such a wide smile on his face, his cheeks hurt from the strain. After Kimberly took a shower she popped into Tommy's room to let him know she was done with the shower. The sight of her in just a towel wasn't exactly helping with the getting out of bed plan, but he sighed, knowing he had class. He waited until she left the room before getting up and pulling his boxers on and going to the bathroom. Kimberly got dressed and fixed her hair, getting ready for the day and then went about waking up Trini. After she got her daughter dressed and brushed her hair they made their way to the kitchen where Tommy was sliding waffles into three plates that were set on the table. Trini went over and sat down at the table, taking a sip of orange juice Tommy had had already poured for her. Kimberly smiled and went over to Tommy who was pouring coffee into a mug.

"Hey, want some coffee?" He asked, giving her a kiss on the cheek.

"Yeah, coffee would be good." She said. He handed her the cup he just poured and took another mug out for himself. Kimberly smiled and gave him a quick peck on the lips before going and joining her daughter at the table.

---

Ethan, Conner, Kira, Eric, Trent, Naomi and the rest of Tommy's science class sat there as he taught the day's lesson. He seemed to have an extra bounce in his step and was smiling more then usual.

"Dude, is it me, or does Dr. O seem happier then usual?" Conner whispered to Kira.

"It's not just you." Kira said, watching their teacher in awe. Ethan was a little pre-occupied, watching Naomi and Trent together sitting a little to close for his liking. Eric leaned over to his brother and Kira.

"Maybe dear old teach got lucky last night." Eric joked. Kira and Conner looked at her with disgust expressions.

"Eww…Teachers and getting jiggy with it……..Not a good mental image." Conner said, shuddering.

"I agree." Kira said.

"So, any questions?" Tommy asked the class with a smile, tossing his piece of chalk in the air and catching it. Cassidy raised her hand. "Yes, Cassidy?"

"Uh, Dr. Oliver, are you….all right?" She asked. Tommy gave her an odd look.

"Yes, I'm fine. I was referring to questions about the lesson, actually, but thank you for your concern." Tommy said.

---

Kimberly was in the hospital cafeteria. She had with her a bag lunch that she had brought from home. She had been working in hospitals long enough to know never to trust the food there. She pulled out a container with a salad and another with leftover spaghetti from the night before. She pulled out a can of soda she had gotten from one of the vending machine and reached for the plastic fork she had packed in the bag. Her hand brushed across a folded up piece of paper.

"What's this?" She asked herself as she pulled it out. She opened up the paper and saw it was a note.

_Dear Beautiful,_

_Well, you're probably wondering what this is; it's a note from your favorite black ranger. (No….Not Zack or Adam….Haha) Anyway, I just wanted to write you a little note to tell you how much I love you and how glad I am that we're together again. You mean the world to me and then some. I'll see you tonight._

_Love always,_

_Tommy._

_P.S. Last night was beyond incredible._

Kimberly blushed and smiled softly as she finished reading the note. _Tommy must've slipped it in my bag while he was making breakfast this morning. _She thought to herself.

"Well, you're happy today." Came a voice. Kimberly looked up to see Dana standing there. Kimberly laughed and stood up, hugging her.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Kimberly asked. Dana shrugged.

"Carter's at work, and I was bored in the house all alone, so I thought I'd come pay you a visit. You weren't in your office, so I figured you'd be here." Dana said as she sat down across from Kimberly. "So, what's up? You're glowing. That's the pregnant lady's job." Kimberly laughed.

"It's nothing." Kimberly said.

"Uh huh, right." Dana said. She reached out and snatched the note out of Kimberly's hands.

"Hey!" Kimberly protested. Dana quickly read the note. She gave Kimberly a sly look.

"And what exactly happened last night?" She asked, wiggling her eyebrows. Kimberly snatched the note back from Dana.

"That's none of your business." Kimberly said, shoving the note in the pocket of her white coat.

"Kimberly, you slept together with your daughter there in the house?" Dana asked with fake shock.

"We were quiet….For the most part." Kimberly said.

"Kim!" Dana said with a laugh.

"It's not like Trini heard us. She was on the other side of the house." Kimberly said. "Besides, don't judge until you and Carter do it after you have the baby."

"Hey, this is about you, not me." Dana said. Kimberly laughed. She began to eat and talked to Dana some more.

---

Kira was sitting on one of the benches outside. Conner had gone off to get food, and she had her notebook open writing down some song ideas, while she waited for him to return with the food. She was so engulfed in her writing that she didn't notice Trent standing across from her, until he reached over and snatched the book from her, leaving a large pen scratch in the middle of the page. Kira's head shot up.

"What are you writing dear Kira?" Trent's voiced oozed with sarcasm. Kira stood up.

"Give that back Trent. It's none of your business." She replied, trying to remain calm. A laugh escaped Trent's throat. But it wasn't a normal laugh. It was hollow and dark, sorta like Trent. Kira narrowed her eyes.

"Aw, Kira's getting angry." Trent opened the book and began reading it out loud. "I think your perfect, so special and cool, you rock my world." Trent read off the page. Kira darted around the table and tried to grab the book from him.

"I said give that back." She snarled. Trent grinned. He knew he was aggravating her beyond belief.

"Who's this about Kira? Can't be about me, seeing as you stomped all over my heart. So it must be about that pathetic loser your dating now." He hissed dangerously. Kira felt the anger level in her rising.

"I said, give it back!" She cried before diving at Trent. Trent was caught off guard, and the both crashed to the ground. Kira snatched the book out of Trent's hands and pushed herself up.

"Don't ever take my stuff again Trent." She snarled before walking away. However, she didn't get very far, before Trent grabbed her legs and flipped her over onto her back, her head smacking off the hard grass. Kira cried out in pain and Trent pushed himself beside her and grabbed the book and threw it away and grabbed her neck.

"Look you little whore....You made my life a living hell, and now I'm gonna do the same!" Conner had met up with Naomi, Ethan and Eric while getting food. They all began to chitchat as he led them back to where Kira was.

"Oh my god!" Naomi gasped, seeing what was going on. Conner's eyes blazed with anger. He dropped the food he had just gotten and ran over. He gripped Trent by his shoulders and tossed him aside.

"Stay the hell away from my girlfriend, you son of a bitch!" Conner yelled. Kira coughed as she tried to breath in air. The others joined them. Eric and Ethan got on either side of Kira.

"Are you all right?" Eric asked, rubbing her back. Kira coughed and nodded. Naomi stood by, shocked. Conner stood between Trent and Kira, ready to intercept any action Trent might decide to do. Trent slowly stood up, calmly dusting off his clothes. He looked at Naomi.

"Come on, babe, let's get out of here." He said, although his tone was close to a command. Naomi looked at the others and went to go over to him, but Conner kept her back.

"She's not going anywhere near a demented freak like you." Conner said, showing concern for both her and Kira. Trent glared at Conner.

"Oh, I see, first you steal Kira from me, now you're going to steal Naomi too?" Trent asked. "Kira might be you're little bitch, but Naomi's mine, so back off." Ethan eyes blazed now, and he got ready to beat Trent to a bloody pulp. Trent went up to Naomi; ready to pull her away when Conner reeled his fist back and punched him in the face.

"You stay the hell away from both of them." Conner said. Trent got up and charged at Conner with a growl. The two fell to the ground with fists flying.

"Conner!" Kira said. "We've got to stop them before Randall or someone sees." She told the others. They nodded and went over to the two guys, trying to pull them apart. Naomi and Eric tried pulling at Trent.

"Get the hell off me!" Trent yelled, sending his fist back. He had no idea who was pulling at him and just wanted them to get off. His fist collided with Naomi's face.

"Ah!" She shrieked in shock and pain as she fell back. Trent froze. He got off of Conner and looked to see Naomi on the ground, her hand over her right eye.

"You bastard!" Ethan yelled. Kira and Conner looked and saw Ethan was close to using his dino power super strength on Trent. Conner got up and he and Kira held Ethan back. "Let me at him!" Ethan yelled. Eric went over to Naomi and helped her sit up. Trent looked at the others then back at Naomi who was looking at him with the same expression she had the other day when he grabbed her wrist.

"Come on, Naomi." He said, going to pull her up. Eric pushed him away.

"Stay away from her." He snarled. Trent looked at Naomi.

"Just go away, Trent." Naomi said, her voice etched with fear.

"What?"

"Go away!" She screamed. Trent glared at her and clenched his fists.

"Fine." He forced out, walking away. Kira and Conner kept a hold on Ethan until Trent was far-gone. They finally let him go. Ethan rushed over to Naomi.

"Are you all right?" He asked. He took her face in his hands.

"Yeah, I-I'm fine." She said. She sighed. Ethan pulled her close and hugged her. Conner looked at Kira and pulled her away slightly, taking Eric with them so that Ethan and Naomi could have some "private time" alone.

"Kira? What happened?" He asked. Kira looked at him.

"I was working on a new song when Trent came over and grabbed my book away from me. Then he started reading it and made rude comments about me...and you and it just escalated and got outta hand." She replied. Conner's eyes narrowed and he turned and looked after Trent. Eric grabbed his brother's arm to prevent him from leaving.

"He's not worth it bro." He commented. Conner swung back around and looked at Eric.

"He called my girlfriend a bitch and insulted a good friend of mine." Conner managed out. Kira looked at him.

"He also called me a whore, but that's besides the point." She replied. Conner's eyes blazed with anger.

"I'm going to kill him." Conner growled. Kira looked at him.

"He's not worth it Conner.... just let it go ok?" She said as she hugged him tightly. Conner returned the hug.

"If your sure." He replied. Kira nodded.

"I am."

---  
Trent stood in the school parking lot, in front of Conner's car to be exact. He popped open the hood and leaned in. He took a switchblade out of his pocket and place it into the engine and cut the brake cable in Conner's car before removing himself and closing the hood.

"I'll teach you." He smiled before walking back into the school.

---

Ethan pulled away from Naomi and examined her face again. Her eye, where she had been hit, looked red. Ethan had no doubt that she'd get a black eye.

"Are you sure you're all right?" He asked. Naomi nodded. She got up.

"It's not like this was the first time he's hurt me." She muttered bitterly. Ethan heard her and stood up.

"What? Whe-When?" He asked. Naomi looked down, feeling ashamed.

"It's nothing. We got in a fight the other day and he just grabbed me, it's nothing."

"Wa…Wait..Was that why he pulled you aside when we went to the mall yesterday?" He asked. Naomi blinked, feeling tears in her eyes. That was all the answer Ethan needed. "Let me see." He said. Naomi shook her head. "Naomi, please." He said softly. Naomi sighed and lifted the sleeve of her shirt to reveal a dark bruise on her wrist. Ethan gently held her wrist and examined the bruise.

"I know, I'm so pathetic. I mean, all girls tell themselves that if a guy even yelled at them, it would be over. My boyfriend grabs my wrist and I forgive him. I'm-"

"You were just giving him the benefit of the doubt." Ethan said, not wanting her to blame herself.

"I mean, he did it because he was jealous, I didn't think he actually meant to hurt me." Naomi said, wiping at her cheeks with her free hand. Ethan let go of her wrist and put his arms around her shoulders, hugging her and planting a kiss on her forehead.

---

At the end of the day Kira stood at her locker putting her books in. Conner came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her and kissed her cheek.

"Hey, hurry up. I'm driving you home today." He smiled. Kira looked at him.

"What happened to soccer practice?" She asked, grabbing her bag and swinging it onto her back. Conner shrugged.

"They canceled...Strange." he replied. Kira nodded as they walked out into the parking lot. Trent was a short distance away, watching Conner's car. He smiled as Conner went to get in, but his smile turned into an entire face of horror when Kira opened the door. Trent ran over to the car and grabbed Kira's arm.

"Don't go with him!" Trent remarked. Kira tried to wrangle her arm away from Trent.

"Let go." She snarled. Conner climbed out of the car and looked at Trent.

"If you don't let her go now, I'll come over there and beat the crap outta you Trent." He snarled dangerously. Trent let Kira's arm go.

"Fine." he replied, dejected. He turned away and watched Kira climb into Conner's car. Conner waited till Trent was a safe distance away before he climbed back in and threw the car into reverse and sped out of the parking lot. Trent watched them leave.

"Kira, I'm so sorry...."

"Oh, funny you're not apologizing to me." Came a cold voice. Trent spun around to see Naomi standing there.

"What the hell do you want?" He growled. Naomi suddenly regretted coming to talk to him alone.

"All this time you've been acting jealous about me and Ethan and you just been harboring feelings for Kira." She said. Trent slowly stalked up to her.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He said. Naomi blinked and took a step back.

"Whatever. I just thought you should know, it's over." She said. Trent eyes glowed with anger. He closed the gap between them and roughly grabbed her arms.

"I don't think so."

"Let me go."

"No one dumps me. It's not over until I say it's over." He snarled. He pushed her away and stalked off. Naomi drew in a shaky breath.

---

Kira and Conner were driving relatively fast through the outskirt streets of Reefside. Conner figured that since the streets of Reefside would be packed with the incoming traffic of people getting out of school or work. Conner was speeding alone nicely. They were approaching Kira's street and he went to tap the breaks to slow down, when his foot just went forward, and the car kept speeding along. Conner's eyes widened. Kira frowned slightly as they sped past her street.

"Conner, you missed my street." She commented. She turned and looked at Conner, who's face was ghostly white.

"Kira, the brakes are gone......" Conner said. Kira's eyes widened.

---

Tommy and Trini walked into his house to the sound of the phone ringing.

"I'll get it!" Trini said. Tommy gently stopped her.

"Hey, how about you go and get started on your homework and I'll get it?" He said, handing Trini her book-bag. Tommy smiled and went to the phone. "Hello?" He said.

"Tommy." Came Kimberly's sad voice. "You've got to get down here to the hospital."

"Why, what's wrong? Is it Jason?" Tommy asked, worried.

"T-There's been an accident, Tommy. Conner and Kira were just brought in." She said softly. Tommy's heart stopped.

"I'll be right there." Tommy said, hanging up the phone.


	24. Family

Tommy burst through the hospital doors gently dragging Trini with him.

"Tommy!" Kimberly called out. She was standing by. She went over to him.

"What happened?" He asked, catching his breath. Kimberly took Trini from him. She looked over to a nearby nurse.

"Heather." She said. Heather walked over.

"Yes, Dr. Hart?"

"Can you please take my daughter to the children's area?" She asked. Heather nodded. "Sweetie, go with Heather, okay?" She asked.

"Mommy, what's going on?" Trini asked as Kimberly handed her to Heather.

"Just go with Heather, please?" She said softly. Trini slowly nodded and left with Heather. She turned to Tommy.

"Well?" He asked.

"There was a car accident." Kimberly explained.

"Where are they?" Tommy asked.

"Kira's with a doctor right now, she got some scratches and hurt her arm."

"And Conner?" He asked. Kimberly dawned a pained expression. The cold hand of fear gripped Tommy's heart. "And Conner?" He asked again.

"He's in surgery." She said softly. She looked around to make sure no one was near by and then pulled something out of her pocket. "Before Kira went to be checked, she gave me these." Kimberly whispered. Tommy looked down to see two dino bracelets. Kira and Conner's bracelets. "Come on, let me take you to the waiting room." She said, taking his arm. Tommy pulled his arm away.

"I want to see Kira." He said. Kimberly sighed; she knew he was going to say that.

"I'll try to get you in to see her after the doctor's done with her. In case anyone asks, you're her uncle Tommy." She said. Tommy sighed and let her take him to the waiting room. "There's a payphone over there." She said, pointing to the side. "After you calm down a bit, call Kira and Conner's parents. I'm going to go check on Kira." She said. Tommy sighed and sat down, taking a few deep breaths as he watched Kimberly walk off. He got up and made the calls. He got through to Mrs. McKnight but was only able to get the machine at The Fords. He sighed and sat back down. Kimberly came back to the waiting room. "You can go see Kira now." She said. Tommy stood up and followed her to a room. He saw Kira sitting on an examination bed. She had a soft cast on her left arm and scratches on her arms and face.

"Kira." Tommy breathed softly, walking into the room. Kira looked up at him. There were tear tracks down her face. Tommy walked over and hugged her gently, careful not to hurt her. Kira buried her face in his chest and sobbed.

"…He…..He said the brakes were gone and then…..We crashed. He covered me and then everything went dark for a while. The next thing I knew…..the-the car was upside down and Conner wasn't moving…" She sobbed. Tommy rubbed her back gently.

"It's okay, it's okay." Tommy said.

---

Eric and Ethan walked out of school together. Ethan had computer club and Eric had tagged along with him. They were by the parking lot when a car screeched to a halt before them. They saw it was Mrs. McKnight in her car.

"Mom?" Eric asked, she looked distressed.

"Eric, get in the car." She said.

"What's wrong?" Eric asked.

"Conner and Kira are in the hospital." She said. Eric and Ethan's eyes widened. Eric quickly got in the passenger side.

"I'm coming with you." Ethan said getting into the back seat just seconds before Mrs. McKnight sped off.

---

Kira sniffled and looked up at Tommy.

"Have you heard anything about Conner?" She whispered. Tommy shook his head.

"No, he's still in surgery." He replied. Kira nodded. She wiped at her eyes with her good hand.

"You can go sit in the waiting room, if you want." Kimberly said. She had been standing back and letting Tommy comfort Kira before. Kira nodded. Tommy helped her hop off the bed and took her to the waiting room. Kimberly sighed and watched them leave. Tommy and Kira walked to the waiting room and were surprised to see Mrs. McKnight, Eric and Ethan. Mrs. McKnight looked up and saw Kira's tearstained face.

"Oh, Kira." She said softly. Kira rushed over to her side and sat down. Mrs. McKnight held her as the two cried, fearful of what was going to happen to Conner. Eric sat by the two of them and tried to comfort them while trying to keep his own tears at bay. Ethan walked over to Tommy.

"Did you hear anything about Conner?" He asked. Tommy sighed and shook his head. Ethan stood against the wall and ran his hands over his face. Ethan looked at Tommy.

"Do we know what happened?" He questioned. Tommy shook his head lightly.

"All Kira told me was that the breaks were shot and then they crashed." He replied. Ethan sighed then stood up straight when an idea struck him.

"Dr. O, what about Conn-"

"Kira gave hers and his to Kim, she gave them to me." Tommy said, knowing he was asking about Conner's gem. Ethan nodded.

"Oh."

---

Naomi walked into her house. She passed the answering machine and saw there were two messages. She hit play.

"Hi sweetie, I just got called out to Chicago for work. I'll call you when I get into my hotel." Naomi sighed at the message from her mother. Her dad was away on business too, which meant another night alone for her. There were times she wondered what was the point of them taking her out of boarding school since they were away all the time. The next message came out. "Well, Mimi, I'm in my hotel room, and I guess you're not home from school yet. I left you some money so you can do something about dinner. I should be back by tomorrow night. I love you." Naomi pressed erase on both messages, not seeing the point on saving them since both messages were for her. She dumped her book bag on the couch and went to the kitchen, finding two twenties her mother left her on the fridge.

"Geez, what does mom think I'm going to have for dinner, lobster?" She asked herself. She took the cash and placed it in her pocket. She ran her fingers through her hair and walked up to her room. She opened her door and gasped loudly when she saw who was sitting at her desk. "Trent?" She whispered.

"Hey Naomi." He said, giving her a smile.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Naomi asked. Trent stood up.

"You seem tense. What's wrong?" He asked. Naomi backed up.

"I thought I told you it was over, what the hell are you doing here?" Naomi asked. Trent took another step towards her.

"And I thought I told you, it's not over until I say it's over." Trent said. Naomi stepped away from him, stepping towards her bed.

"What do you want?" She asked, trying to keep her voice steady. _Don't let him see you sweat. _She told herself. Trent looked down. He walked over to her.

"I….I need to talk to someone." He said. Naomi gulped and waited for him to continue. "I did a bad thing today."

"Well, that's the understatement of the year." Naomi muttered.

"No, not that, something else." Trent said. Naomi looked over at the phone on her nightstand. She was trying to calculate the chances of her getting to the phone before Trent could grab her.

"W-What did you do?" She asked, trying to keep him talking as she slowly inched towards the other side of the bed in hopes of getting to the phone.

"Well, after the fight, I went to Conner's car." Trent said.

"Uh huh." Naomi said, not totally paying attention.

"And I messed it up." He said. Naomi looked at him.

"What, you scratched the paint or something?" She asked. Trent was silent. "Oh god, please tell me you just scratched the paint." Naomi pleaded.

"I cut the brakes." He said. Naomi gasped and put her hand over her mouth. She knew Conner and Kira had driven off.

"Oh…….Oh my god……." She whispered. She gave up on the idea of being stealth and ran to the phone. She picked it up.

"Who are you calling?" Trent asked. Naomi tried to dial 911 but her hands were shaking too much. He got right behind her. "Who are you calling?" He demanded. She didn't answer. Trent growled and ripped the phone out of her hand and slammed it down. Naomi gasped and backed away from him, only to find herself against the wall.

"Trent, we need to call someone and tell them what happened." Naomi said softly. Trent got closer to her.

"What? You want me to go to jail?" He asked. Naomi shook her head frantically.

"No, no. You need some help….Professional help. If you just calm down, I can make some calls or something for you." She said, trying to keep her voice in soothing tones. Trent shook his head. He slammed his hand against the wall, right by her head. Naomi jumped with a small yelp.

I don't want help." He said lowly. Naomi took a deep breath, trying to remain calm and not get scared.

"Okay, okay, I won't call anyone, just please, calm down." Naomi said. Trent sighed. He looked terrible. His face was pale and there were beads of sweat on his forehead. He lowered his head. Naomi knew she had to get away before he went bizerk again. _All right, screw being calm! _Her mind screamed. She shoved him away and tried to make a break for the door. Trent growled and grabbed her by the back of her neck and slammed her against the wall. Naomi didn't have time to react before Trent put his hands around her neck and started to squeeze. Naomi gasped.

"You don't want to help. You just want to destroy me, just like everyone else!" Trent yelled as he squeezed a little harder. Naomi tried to pull at his hands but he was too strong. Naomi gurgled and coughed as she kept pulling at his hands. One of her hands went around his wrist as she kept pulling. She accidentally pushed the sleeve of his white button down shirt up, revealing his bracelet. _Wh……That looks like the bracelet Ethan has……….but………_ Her mind tried to process what she was seeing. Her knee shot up and caught him in the groin, causing him to stumble backwards with a grunt. Naomi put her hand against her neck as she breathed. She looked at Trent. Her head cleared as everything came together.

"It's you.." She whispered. "You're the white ranger.." Trent glared at her. He stood up straight and backhanded her. Naomi's head collided with the wall and everything went dark.

---

A few hours had passes since the accident and the teens, as well as Tommy, Mrs. McKnight and Kim sat quietly in the waiting room. Kira had long since fallen asleep across three chairs, her head resting against Eric's stomach. Eric was snoring softly, his head against the wall. Mrs. McKnight has dozed off slightly and was using Eric as a pillow and Ethan was asleep on the floor beneath the chairs. The only two who had remained awake were Tommy and Kimberly. A doctor or two passes every so often, never stopping. A few minutes later, a doctor walked towards the sleeping teens, and Tommy, Kim and Mrs. McKnight.

"Excuse me? Are you with Mr. Conner McKnight?" He questioned. Tommy lightly shook Eric and Kira awake, while Kim woke up Mrs. McKnight and Ethan. Tommy nodded.

"Yes we are." He replied. The doctor removed his glasses and looked at them.

"Conner is out of surgery...." he stated.

"Is….Is he all right?" Mrs. McKnight asked. The doctor sighed, hesitating

"Jeff." Kimberly barked at her colleague, not in the best of moods. "Is he all right?" The doctor looked at them.

"There was some swelling in his brain from hitting his head in the accident."

"Is my brother all right?" Eric asked, his voice desperate.

"He hasn't regain consciousness." The doctor said. "We were able to stop all of the internal bleeding, now it's just a matter of time before he wakes up."

"And, of course, you can't tell us how much time, can you?" Ethan said bitterly. The doctor chose to ignore that.

"Can we go see him?" Kira asked.

"I'm sorry, only family is allowed at the moment." He said. Mrs. McKnight looked at everyone, seeing how they had spent so long at her and Eric's side waiting to hear about Conner, she looked at the doctor.

"They are family." She replied. The doctor sighed, knowing better then to go against her.

"Very well." He said. "He's in room 145." He said, walking away. Mrs. McKnight stood and looked at them.

"Lets go." She commented. Eric helped Kira up and they followed Mrs. McKnight towards Conner's room. Tommy grabbed Ethan's arm and pulled him back lightly.

"We have a problem now that Conner's out of commission." He told the blue ranger who nodded.

"So what do we do then?" Ethan questioned.

"Fine a replacement. I guess….Until Conner gets back on his feet."

"Yeah, but who?" Ethan asked.

---

Kira sat in the hallway, waiting for Eric and Mrs. McKnight to finish up with Conner. She couldn't believe this was happening. This type of thing didn't was a power ranger, and power rangers aren't supposed to end up in the hospital in a coma. Kira put her head on her knees, letting a few tears slide down her cheeks. Conner had to come out of this all right. It wasn't fair. She wasn't going to let him risk his life for her and not be all right. The door to the room opened and Eric and Mrs. McKnight walked out. Eric had to help her stand upright; she was so distraught at the sight of her son like that.

"You can……..uh, go in now." Eric said, trying to remain calm.

"Thank you." Kira said softly. She stood up and walked into the room. She saw Conner lying there. She put a hand over her mouth as some sobs escaped her. She slowly walked over and sat down next to his bed. She gently took one of her hands in his. "Hey, Conner." She whispered softly. "The doctor's said you've got some swelling in your brain." She said. "I'm sure Ethan would say that at least your brain now fills out your big head." She said, trying to make a joke. She laughed softly only to then break down in tears. She rubbed his hand gently. "Conner, Conner, please, you've got to wake up soon." She said. She wiped at her cheeks. "You have to wake up because there's something I have to tell you." She took a deep breath. "When I woke up in the car and I saw you there, not moving, you don't know how scared I got. I…….I thought you were leaving me…..And……I just…..The thought of that just made me feel like I was dying. So……You have to wake up so I…So I can tell you how much I love you." She lowered her head and rested it against his hand. Outside, Tommy and Ethan were ready to go in and join Kira. Kimberly had said she wanted to go check on Trini. Tommy and Ethan walked in and saw Kira crying. Ethan went and sat beside her, rubbing her back gently. He looked at Conner.

"Hey, buddy." He said. "So, you're brain's swelled up……I guess it fills out your big head now." He joked. Kira couldn't help chuckle slightly through her tears. Tommy walked over to Conner's other side and sat down.

"Hey, Conner, just so you know, when you wake up you're in big trouble for scaring us all." He said. They stayed with Conner for a little while before they were told that visiting hours were over and they would have to leave. Kira refused to leave Conner's side, but in the end Ethan reminded her that she had to go home so her parents didn't freak. Kira knew he had a point and let him take her home. Tommy waited for Kimberly and Trini. Tommy gave Mrs. McKnight his number and told her that she could call him if anything happened, or if she just needed someone to talk to him. Mrs. McKnight thanked him and he, Kimberly and Trini went home.

---

The next day, Kira's parents tried to get her to stay home but she left and went to the hospital. She found Eric asleep in the waiting room and sat beside him, shaking his shoulder gently. Eric woke up.

"Kira, hey." He said.

"Hey." Kira said. "Where's your mom?" She asked.

"She stayed by Conner's side for the night." Eric said, sitting up fully and rubbing his eyes. "How are you?"

"Why ask questions you know the answer to?" She asked softly. "What about you?"

"Same." Eric sighed. "You going to go to school?" He asked.

"No. You?" She asked. Eric shook his head. She sighed. Eric put an arm around her shoulders. Kira leaned on him.

---

Tommy sighed as he watched his students walk into the classroom. He noticed that Kira and Eric weren't amongst them, not that he was surprised. They were probably at the hospital. He also noticed that Trent and Naomi were missing, but didn't think much about it. Everyone took their seats.

"Good morning, class." He said. "Uh, as you may or may not know, two of your fellow students, Kira and Conner, were involved in an accident yesterday after school." He said. Cassidy's hands shot up. Tommy sighed. "Yes, Cassidy?" The blonde news reporter wannabe slowly rose to her feet.

"The accident was on the news last night." She pointed out gently. "And, well, on behalf of everyone else, I hope that they both have a quick recovery." She said before sitting back down.

"Thank you, Cassidy." Tommy said. Ethan sighed and tried his best to pay attention to class, but his mind kept wandering to Conner and Kira, and Naomi. He wondered why she wasn't in class. He didn't give a hairy rat's ass as to Trent's whereabouts.

---

Naomi slowly opened her eyes. She looked around, not recognizing where she was. It wasn't her bedroom. It looked more like some sort of warehouse. She tried to sit up but found it difficult since her hands were bound behind her back.

"Oh, you're awake. Finally. I thought you were dead or something," came a voice. Naomi looked up to see Trent sitting off to the side. He got up and walked over to her. She blinked as what had happened the day before came flooding back to her. She instantly began struggling away from him. Trent laughed. "Where do you think you're going?" He asked.

"Away from you!" She screamed. "You're evil!" Trent laughed again.

"Ding ding ding, you are correct! Give the girl a prize!" Trent said. Naomi continued trying to get away but Trent went and blocked her path. He sat down beside her. Trent looked at her. "Do you want me to untie you?" He asked as if he was talking to a child.

"You're crazy." Naomi said. Trent laughed.

"You know what, you might be right about that." Suddenly, a green vortex appeared in the warehouse. Out of it came a woman dressed in black. Naomi recognized her as the woman who attacked her way back a few days after she first arrived to Reefside. Naomi gasped in fear. Trent smiled, standing up. "Naomi, allow me to introduce you to Elsa." He said. Trent looked at Elsa. "What brings you down here?" He asked.

"Trent, what is it you plan on doing with this girl?" She asked. Trent shrugged.

"Hmm, I haven't really thought about it. How about I kill her?" He asked sarcastically. Naomi whimpered in fear. Elsa smirked.

"What you lack in imagination, you do make up for in disposing of one of the rangers." She said. Naomi's eyes widened. _Is she saying that Conner or Kira or dead?_

"Well, do you have any suggestions?" Trent asked.

"Not me. But Lord Mesogog has decided you will use this girl to get the other dino gems." Elsa said. "I was told to come and deliver the message." She cast a look to Naomi. "Whatever you choose to do after we get the gems is up to you." And with that, she disappeared. Naomi looked at Trent.

"Well, you heard the lady." Trent said, crossing his arms with an amused expression.

---

Ethan walked out of school about to attempt to enjoy his lunch. He sat down at an empty table and pulled his cell phone out of his bag, which he had turned off for class. He turned it on, ready to call Kira's cell phone to see if there was any news on Conner. He was surprised to see there was a voicemail message waiting for him. He accessed the message and placed the phone against his ear. He wasn't expecting to hear the voice he heard in the message.

"Ethan," came Trent's voice. "Wow, sucks that I could only get your voicemail. I really wanted to talk to ya." He heard Trent give a sarcastic sigh. "Oh well. Anyway, listen, I was wondering if we could talk, you know, about Naomi? I'm down at the warehouse, you know, the one at the edge of town. So, how about we meet up here after school?"

"ETHAN IT'S A TRAP! TRENT'S THE WHITE RANGER!" Ethan gasped as he heard Naomi yell in the background. "Ungh!" She exclaimed. He heard the sound of someone being hit and something falling on the ground.

"Well, I guess my secrets out." Trent said. "Guess I can drop the act. You come here with the dino gems, or she's dead." And with that the message ended. Ethan's hand trembled as he stared at his cell phone in shock. He resisted the urge to run to the warehouse and went to find Dr. Oliver. He ran to Dr. Oliver's classroom and was glad that the only one there was he. He was sitting at his desk.

"Dr. Oliver!" Ethan said frantically. Tommy looked up. Ethan walked in. "Naomi, she's in trouble."

"What?" Tommy asked.

"Trent, he's got her."

"I don't understand."

"Trent's the white ranger!" Ethan hissed. Tommy's eyes widened. "He wants me to bring him the dino gems or……He's going to kill her.."

---

Ethan walked to the warehouse. He took a deep breath.

"Trent!" He called out.

"Glad you could show up," came Trent's voice. Ethan looked up to see Trent in full ranger gear standing on the roof. He held Naomi in front of him, his drago sword pressed against her throat.

"Ethan!" Naomi cried out. Ethan took a deep breath.

"You got what I want?" Trent asked.

"Yeah, I do. Now let her go."

"Sure." Trent shrugged. He pushed Naomi off the edge of the roof.

"No!" Ethan yelled.


	25. The Clark Kent Effect

Trent laughed as he had a grip on one of her arms while he dangled her off the side of the roof. Naomi screamed as she grabbed onto Trent's hand with her other arm, afraid he was going to drop her. Trent laughed and pulled her back onto the roof.

"Give me the gems." Trent said.

"Why don't you come down here, and we talk this out?" Ethan suggested.

"What? I don't want to talk. I want the gem-AHH!" Trent bellowed, falling over. Naomi rolled away, narrowly avoiding being knocked off the roof. She looked up to see the black ranger appear behind Trent.

"Naomi, get out of there!" Ethan yelled. Naomi pushed herself to her feet and ran away as the black and white rangers began to fight. Trent sent out a blast, trying to get the black ranger, but he ducked out of the way. The blast shook the roof, causing Naomi to fall over the edge. She grabbed onto the ledge and tried to pull herself back up. Ethan gasped.

"Help!" She screamed. Ethan saw Doctor Oliver try to get to her but Trent tackled him. Ethan ran over to the warehouse, positioning himself right below Naomi.

"Naomi, let go." He said.

"What?! Are you crazy?!" She screamed.

"Just trust me." He said. Naomi gulped and forced herself to let go. Under normal circumstances, trying to catch someone from that height would floor a person, but Ethan was far from normal. He activated his dino strength. Naomi slowly released the ledge and shrieked as she felt herself falling. She shut her eyes, awaiting the painful impact. She gasped as she felt strong arms under her. She opened her eyes and saw Ethan had caught her. He set her down as his arms went back to normal. "Are you all right?" He asked. She nodded. Tommy saw that Naomi was safe on the ground and got up, delivering one last kick to the chest to Trent. Trent fell back. Tommy jumped off the roof and joined the other two on the ground.

"Come on, let's get out of here." He said.

"No way, I'm going to kill Trent." Ethan protested. He went to morph. Naomi grabbed his hand.

"No, please, let's just go." She pleaded. Ethan sighed and nodded. Tommy powered down and the three of them ran off.

---

The subconscious mind of Conner McKnight was wide-awake, which was more than could be said for his body. Conner was wonding around in some sort of dream world, just wondering. There was no set destination, just empty darkness. Conner hoped he would find either that nice bright white light, or something that would bring him back. Occasionally he would hear voices from his brother Eric, his mother, or even the love of his life, Kira Ford. But no matter what he tried, no matter how hard he screamed, he remained in the darkness.

"This officially blows." He mumbled before plopping down onto the ground and putting his elbows on his knees. For a few moments, there was the eerie quiet, followed by the loud clicking of high heels. Conner's ears perked up. "What is my mind giving me a hooker or something?" He chuckled. The person wearing the heels chuckled as well.

"I think your head might be on a silver platter Mr. McKnight if Ms. Ford ever found out about that thought." The voice commented. Conner turned around and came face to face with a girl wearing a black dress jacket and a black skirt, her shirt, however was a bright yellow and her black hair commented the outfit. Conner tilted his head.

"You look familiar...who are you? And why are you in my dream world." He questioned. The female smiled.

"I'm surprised Mr. McKnight....Apparently you haven't brushed up on your ranger history recently have you?" She smiled and walked closer.

"I'm Trini Kwan....Your Guardian Angel."

"Wha…I…..You're the first yellow ranger!" Conner suddenly realized. Trini laughed. "…I just called my guardian angel a hooker……I'm _so_ gonna go to hell." Trini smiled and helped Conner up.

"Believe me, I've heard worse." She replied and motioned for him to walk with her.

"Conner, I'm going to offer you the chance to see into your future." She told him. Conner stopped and looked at her.

"What?" He asked. Trini nodded.

"You heard me. I'm giving you the chance to look into your future." She reinforced her point. Conner stood there. He had the chance to look into his future and see things that he normally would not have been able to do. Trini place her hand on his shoulder.

"Well?" She asked. Conner turned and looked at her.

"Alright." he replied. Trini smiled.

"This might be a little scary. But you'll be able to deal with it alright?" She commented. Conner nodded. Trini stepped forward and a small pool of water appeared.

"Look in." Trini said. Conner did as he was told, and he began to see. He saw a little boy who looked a lot like him.

"Uh……I think you've gone the wrong way, that's me as a kid." Conner said. Trini rolled her eyes.

"Just watch." She said. Conner sighed and did so.

"Tyler Eric McKnight, get your butt over here." Came a severely displeased voice. Conner's brows furrowed, confused. Into the view came Kira….But she looked older. "I thought I told you to clean your room."

"I did clean it." The little boy said.

"Oh yeah? Then how come your father just went to get something from your closet and got buried under all your toys?" Kira asked, her hands on her hips. The little boy groaned as he walked up some stairs. Kira sighed and sat down.

"I'm free!" Came a voice, followed by the sound of the little boy laughing. The image changed and he gasped as he saw an older version of himself half under a pile of toys, tickling the little boy.

"Daddy! Stop it!" The little boy pleaded through his laughter. Conner gasped. His older self got up from beneath the toys and stopped tickling Tyler. The picture in the pool faded away and turned into something knew. It was a picture of Conner, older....playing soccer.

"What's this?" He asked. Trini quieted him before it went into the picture. He saw himself kick the ball into the goal.

"AND CONNER MCKNIGHT KICKS THE WINNING GOAL! WINNING AMERICA THE WORLD CUP!" Boomed an announcer's voice. He saw other guys, dressed in the same uniforms as him bum rush him with joy. They lifted Conner up on their shoulders.

"WHOO!" His older self yelled out. "YEAH!" The image changed to the stands where Eric, Kira and Tyler were cheering. Conner watched has his older self hopped off the shoulders of his teammates and ran to the stands where his brother, Kira and Tyler were in the front row. He grabbed Kira and the two kissed. He picked Tyler up and hugged him. The pool then dimmed into darkness.

"I….I won the world cup?" Conner asked, clearly happy and excited. Trini laughed.

"Looks like it." She said.

"…And Kira and I get married and have a kid?" He asked, even more happy and excited. "Awesome!"

---

Tommy opened the front door of his house and he, Ethan and Naomi walked in.

"OK, just sit down." Tommy said to the two teens as he made his way to the kitchen to use the phone. Before Ethan and He went to the warehouse, he had dropped Trini off at Dana's house and wanted to just call and make sure everything was all right. Ethan took Naomi to the couch. She curled up with her knees up to her chest. Ethan was finally able to see all her wounds. The black eye from where Trent hit her the day before had formed and she had a bruise on her cheek and another one around her neck. Ethan seriously wanted to kill Trent.

"What do we do if he comes here?" Naomi asked softly.

"He won't." Ethan promised. "Trent doesn't know where Dr. O lives."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm positive." Ethan said. Naomi rested her head on her knees.

"This is all my fault." She whispered, lifting her head up.

"What? What do you mean?" Ethan asked.

"If I had just gone with him yesterday after the fight, he wouldn't have messed with Conner's car and-"

"What?! You mean Trent's the reason Conner's in a coma?" Ethan exclaimed. Naomi nodded. She took a deep breath as what Elsa said came to her head.

"If Conner's in a coma…Does that mean Kira's…..?"

"She's got a broken wrist and some cuts and scratches." Ethan said. Naomi blinked.

"But…Elsa…."

"Elsa was there?"

"Yeah. Right before Trent called you, she's the one who told him to get you to exchange the gems for me. She said he disposed of one of the rangers I thought-"

"Well, Elsa got the info wrong." Ethan said. "God, I'm going to kill Trent." He said through clenched teeth. Naomi put her head in her hands.

"If I had just gone with Trent, maybe things would've been okay." She said. Ethan looked at her and his face softened. He reached over and pulled her over, holding her close.

"Don't say that. If you had gone with him, he could've hurt you more."

"But Conner and Kira would've been okay. They're the important ones."

"And you're saying you're not important?" He asked. Naomi sat up and pulled away from him.

"You and them are power rangers. You're protecting the whole entire world. Me? I'm just…Naomi."

"What makes you think you're not important? Naomi.." Ethan looked her straight in the eyes. "You're the most important person in the entire world to me." He whispered gently. Naomi stared at him. She leaned in closer to him.

"Well, I just called Dana, everything's all right with her and Trini." Tommy said as he walked back into the room, causing Naomi to slightly jump and slide away from Ethan. Ethan looked at Tommy, then back at Naomi. _Was…was she about to kiss me? _He thought to himself. _No, of course not…….She doesn't see me that way.. _"Naomi, do you want to call your parents, tell them were you are?" Tommy asked. Naomi shook her head.

"They're not home. They're both away on business."

"Oh." Tommy said.

"So, what do we do now? I mean, now that we know who the white ranger is?" Ethan asked Tommy.

"I don't know." Tommy said. He sat down in one of his easy chairs.

"I still think killing him is a good idea, just so you know." Ethan said.

"Ethan." Tommy sighed. "Look, I'm sure this isn't something he's doing by choice. I mean, he's probably under some sort of spell or something." He shrugged. "That's usually how it's done."

"And your point is?" Ethan asked.

"My point is, he's still Trent. So, no, we can't kill him." Ethan opened his mouth to say something. "And no, we can't maim him either." Tommy said quickly, cutting Ethan off. Ethan slumped back against the couch.

"Can I just-"

"No."

"But what about-"

"No."

"But he-"

"No."

"Ethan, I think you've hit a brick wall." Naomi said, smirking gently, feeling a little better. A few hours passed. Tommy offered to go pick up dinner for them all, leaving Ethan and Naomi alone.

"So, are you feeling better?" Ethan asked. Naomi sighed.

"You mean from getting nearly choked, knocked out, kidnapped, tied up, used as a bargaining chip for dino gems, hit, having a sword/dagger thing pressed against my throat, being dangled off a roof, almost falling off of said roof and then actually falling off of said roof?" Naomi asked.

"…….So, that would be a no?" Ethan asked.

"Mmm." Naomi said, nodding.

"Although, you didn't exactly fall off the roof…it was more like you let go and I caught you."

"Tomato tomato." Naomi said, she laughed softly. Ethan smiled. He looked at her.

"So…….Uh………about earlier..When Dr. Oliver got off the phone….I.."

"What?" Naomi asked.

"Ok, this might sound crazy, and feel free to laugh hysterically, but were you about to……….kiss me?" He asked. Naomi's eyes widened.

"I……." The front door opened to reveal Kimberly. She stopped, surprised to see the two teens in the living room.

"Oh, hi." She said. _Damnit! _Ethan mentally cursed. "What's going on?" Ethan looked at her and told her everything that had happened. Kimberly stood against the wall and waited for him to be finished before letting out a deep breath.

"Wow. Those bad guys never seem to tire of the whole evil ranger shtick." She looked at Naomi. "Are you all right?"

"I'm getting there." Naomi said.

"Where are Tommy and Trini?" Kimberly asked.

"Tommy dropped Trini off at your friend..Diana's house."

"You mean Dana?"

"Yeah." Ethan said, sheepishly. "And Dr. Oliver went to get food."

"Oh." Kimberly said. At that moment, the door opened and Tommy walked in with bags of Chinese take-out. He saw Kimberly.

"Oh, hey." He said, giving her a quick peck on the lips. "You hungry?" He asked.

"A little." Kimberly said. They all went to the kitchen as Tommy set the bags down on the table and brought out some plats.

"I wasn't sure what you guys," he said to Ethan and Naomi, "would like, so, I just picked some stuff. Hope that's all right with you guys."

"I'm fine with anything." Ethan said.

"I'm so hungry, I really don't care." Naomi said.

"All right then." He said as they all sat down and began to serve themselves. After they all ate, they sat back in the living room.

"There's got to be a way to break what ever hold Mesogog's got on Trent." Tommy said.

"Well, Dr. O, you already know my stance on this whole thing." Ethan said.

"Ethan, Doctor Oliver's right. I mean, you can't kill Trent." Naomi said.

"He's hurt you, hurt Kira, nearly killed Conner and Kira, and kidnapped you. Watch me not kill him." Ethan grumbled. Kimberly and Tommy sighed.

"You can't kill him because you guys are the power rangers, you're the good guys. The good guys help those in need, and right now, Trent's in need………..A whole lot of need, and he doesn't even know it." Naomi said.

"She's right." Kimberly said.

"Fine, I won't kill him. But, next time I see him, he will be in a world of pain." Ethan said. The four of them were quiet. Tommy checked his watch.

"It's getting late. Kim, do you want me to go pick up Trini from Dana's?" He asked. Kimberly nodded.

"Yeah, that would be nice, thanks." She said. Tommy kissed her on the cheek and stood up. Kimberly looked at Naomi and Ethan then back at Tommy. She got up and went over to Tommy. "Take Ethan with you." She whispered. Tommy gave her a confused look. "I want to talk to Naomi alone, and I can't do that if Ethan's here."

"How am I supposed to get him to come with me without it looking weird?" He whispered back.

"I don't know. Tell him you want him to meet other ranger alumni or something." She said. Tommy sighed. He turned back to the two teens. "Hey, Ethan, how about you along come with me?" He asked. Ethan looked at him.

"Uh, sure." Ethan said. He got up and the two men left. Kimberly looked at Naomi.

"What was that about?" Naomi asked. Kimberly went and sat down beside her.

"What do you mean?" Kimberly asked. Naomi shrugged.

"Forget it." She said. Kimberly looked at Naomi.

"Did Tom…I mean, Dr. Oliver tell you how I used to be a power ranger?" Kimberly asked. Naomi stared at her with wide eyes. "……..I guess that would be a no."

"You were a power ranger?" She asked.

"Uh huh. One of the original ones, to be exact."

"Whoa.."

"Tommy……I mean Doctor Oliver was one too. I was the first pink ranger, and he was the first green ranger."

"So, you two have known each other a long time." Naomi looked at Kimberly. "There's some point to this, somewhere, isn't there?" Naomi asked. Kimberly laughed.

"Yeah, there is." She took a deep breath. "Whe Doctor Oliver first became a power ranger, he was an evil ranger." Naomi looked at her.

"He was?"

"Yeah. And, well, he was the new guy in town and I kind of liked him. When the other rangers and I found out he was the evil green ranger, I was devastated. I tried talking to him, tried to get through to him, but it didn't work. In the end, of course, we were able to break the spell he was under and he joined our side. What I'm trying to say is that I know what you're going through."

"You do?"

"Yeah. You like someone, and it turns out he's not one of the good guys, it hurts. I've been there, and I just want you to know that if you need to talk about it, I'm here for you."

"I………..Well, the thing is………I'm not exactly going through that." Naomi said.

"You're not?"

"No, I don't like Trent that way.."

"Oh." Kimberly said, suddenly feeling very foolish. "But….When Ethan was telling me what happened, he mentioned Trent was your boyfriend and…….." Kimberly closed her mouth. "You know what, this is none of my business, forget I said anything."

"I….I started dating Trent because I wanted to get over someone." Naomi said.

"The blue ranger?" Kimberly asked. Naomi looked at her, about to ask how she knew. "Tommy told me what happened, how you were upset with Ethan and all that."

"Yeah." Naomi sighed. "You ever look at someone and to you, they just seem like one way……..But then……you find out something about them and it just changes everything?" She asked. She sighed again. "I……I fell for the blue ranger…..I mean, you know, when I didn't know who he was…And then, when I found out who he really was……..I just…I mean, I was pissed because I thought it was just a dirty trick…but I was also scared, I mean………Ethan's my friend and the fact that he made me feel so…."

"Special?"

"Yeah, and well, it's kind of confused me. And it didn't help when Ethan told me it wasn't a trick."

"So, are you saying you have feelings for Ethan?" Kimberly asked.

"I don't know. I spent so much time forcing myself to have feelings for Trent that everything's just so mixed up. I don't know what I feel anymore. I mean, I should just forget it all and have feelings for Ethan. He likes me and he's so nice and he's been there for me and-"

"Naomi," Kimberly said, cutting her off. "You can't think up reasons to have feelings for a person like that. Your feelings can't come from your head, they have to come from your heart."

"My heart's confused though. What do I do?"

"I guess you just have to wait until it's not." Kimberly said. Naomi sighed. "I'm sorry, I know that's not the answer you were looking for."

---

Kira sat curled up on one of the uncomfortable hospital chairs in Conner's room. Mrs. McKnight had left hours before, going home to get some actual sleep, seeing as she hadn't the night before. Kira hadn't done so well herself during the night. The crash and Conner using himself as a shield had haunted her dreams. She hadn't told her parents, mainly because they were in bed when she came home, and they were gone before she left for the hospital. She sighed and moved her position light. Eric had long since disappeared to go find food for the both of them. Neither was hungry, but knew that they needed to eat to keep up their strength. Kira stared at Conner, his sleeping form. The IV's running from their stands beside his bed into his body to feed him, and the constant bleep from the heart monitor made it strange to watch him. She watched as his chest rose and fell in a rhythmic motion, making her sleepy. Kira's eyes slowly drifted shut, her head resting against the palm of her hand and her last conscious thought asking Conner to wake up soon. Eric walked in about 10 minutes later carrying some take out food. He had failed to find the cafeteria in the hospital, so he'd gone to the closest fast food restaurant. He hopped that Kira liked burgers, otherwise he was shit outta luck. As he walked into the room, he opened his mouth to announce to Kira that he was back, when he noticed that she was now fully asleep, snoring lightly. She was no longer asleep in the chair, but bent forward onto Conner's bed, holding his hand, using his mattress as a pillow. Eric cringed. It couldn't be comfortable for Kira to sleep like that. He put the food on the bedside table near him and grabbed a blanket and placed it gently over Kira's back. She shifted slightly.

"Mmmm Thanks Conner...love you too." She mumbled before turning her head the other way, towards Conner. Eric sighed and sat down by the wall. He pulled out one of the boxes of fries and began to eat silently.

---

Ethan and Tommy had gone to Carter and Dana's house to pick Trini up. Ethan talked to the two former rangers for a bit before they decided to leave. Tommy put Trini in the back seat as Ethan got in the passenger side. Shortly after Tommy pulled out of the Greysons' driveway, Trini was asleep.

"Hey, I've been doing some thinking." Tommy said. "Since Conner's out of commission, and Kira can't fight with her wrist like that, we need to find a replacement if we hope to fight against Mesogog and his goons."

"Right, but who? I thought you said that the gems bond with someone DNA."

"They do. So, the logical thought would be that we need someone with similar DNA as Conner or Kira."

"Yeah but…….Wait, you mean Eric?" Ethan asked. Tommy nodded. "Dr. O, are you sure? I mean, I was thinking maybe someone who was already in the know, like Naomi, Dr. Hart or Mr. Greyson." He decided not to include Dana since she was pregnant.

"The gems wouldn't respond to them. Besides, Conner said that Eric went to that Ninja Academy run by the former wind and samurai rangers, so we know he knows how to fight."

"Yeah, but would he be okay with a. Finding out his brother, friends and science teacher are power rangers and b. Becoming a power ranger himself."

"A temporary power ranger." Tommy corrected.

"I still don't think it's a good idea." Ethan said.

"Look, I don't like more people then necessary being involved, but if we want to protect the city, not to mention _Naomi,_" Tommy said, stressing her name knowing it would get to Ethan, he looked over and was right since Ethan looked away, "the two of us won't be enough."

"I guess you're right." Ethan said. They soon reached the house. "Do you want me to get Trini?" Ethan asked.

"Yeah, sure, just be careful not to wake her." Tommy said. Ethan nodded. He got out and slowly eased Trini out of the car. Tommy was a little surprised to see how he got her out with out her even waking up a little. Ethan caught the look after he picked Trini up.

"My older sister has a two year old son. You wake that boy up from a nap, and you better break out the earplugs. So, I've managed to perfect the skill." Ethan said softly. Tommy laughed and opened the door to the house. Ethan carried Trini into the house. Kimberly and Naomi were sitting on the couch and smiled at the sight. Kimberly went over and stood by Ethan as he gently eased the sleeping child into her arms.

"I'll put Ms. Sleepy-Head to bed." Kimberly said as she disappeared upstairs. Naomi looked at the two of them.

"I..I called my house to see if my mom was home. No one answered. So I checked the messages on our machine. Apparently after her job assignment was done, she decided to meet up with Dad in Phoenix, and they're enjoying some time alone at a Spa." She said bitterly. "So nice, I nearly get killed, and they're enjoying massages and Jacuzzis. Anyway, I……..I don't…" She said, not sure how to say what she was about to ask.

"You can stay here." Tommy said, understanding that she was afraid Trent would come to her house. Naomi sighed.

"Thanks."

"Why don't you go ask Kimberly if she can lend you some night clothes and I'll pull the bed out of the sofa?" He suggested. Naomi smiled.

"Thanks." She said as she went upstairs. Ethan watched her leave.

"Uh……we should probably all stay……..You know, united front and-" Ethan said, wanting to stay with Naomi.

"If you can come up with a legitimate reason for not coming home for your parents, you can stay." Tommy said. Ethan looked at Tommy. "Apparently my house has become Center for Lovelorn Teens." He smirked. Ethan's eyes widened and his jaw dropped. Tommy laughed. "Help me get this bed out." Tommy said. Ethan helped him get the sofa cushions to the side.

"How's this sound 'mom, dad, my friends and I really need to study for a science test tomorrow, so is it all right if I spend the night at Kira's'?"

"But what if they call Kira's house?" Tommy asked.

"Simple, I tell them that Kira's phones got disconnected because they're in the process of changing companies, so they'll have to just call my cell phone."

"Impressive." Tommy said. "And if they don't buy it?"

"One of the perks of being a geek, you don't get in trouble so parents believe anything you say." Ethan smirked.

"All right, go call them." Tommy said as he began to pull out the foldout bed. Ethan nodded and went to the phone.

---

Naomi walked along the hallway until she found the slightly ajar door that showed Kimberly tucking her daughter in. Naomi quietly walked into the doorway.

"Dr. Hart?" She whispered, careful not to wake the sleeping child. Kimberly turned and looked at her. She went over to the door. Naomi walked out of the doorway as Kimberly switched off the light and walked out of the room, shutting the door behind her.

"What's up?" Kimberly asked.

"Well, uh, Dr. Oliver said I could stay here for the night and he told me to ask you if I could borrow something to sleep in. I…if me staying over is imposing, I guess-"

"Naomi," Kimberly said, cutting her off.

"Yeah?"

"I've got something you can borrow." She said. She ushered Naomi back into the room, since Kimberly had yet to move her things to Tommy's room. Right as they shut the door behind them, Ethan and Tommy were coming up the stairs and going to his room so Tommy could give him something to sleep in. Tommy handed him a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt before leaving him to change so he could get some bed sheets and blankets from the linen closet. Kimberly gave Naomi a pair of cotton shorts and a tank top. Naomi went to the bathroom to change. After Ethan changed, he joined Tommy downstairs.

"So, I can trust that if I leave you two down here unsupervised, nothing will happen, right?" Tommy asked Ethan.

"Dr. Oliver!" Ethan hissed embarrassed.

"Hey, I'm just saying. I mean, I do have a child in the house."

"Dude, seeing as you were in a very good mood yesterday, I don't think you're one to talk about things going on while children are in the house." Ethan pointed out. Tommy looked at him.

"Was it _that_ obvious? Wait……Why am I talking about this with you? You're my student!" Tommy said. Ethan chuckled.

"Anyway, I don't think it would exactly be good for my job if I had two students over at my house and they ended up-" Tommy was cut off as they heard someone coming down the stairs. They looked over to see Naomi come in wearing the clothes Kimberly leant her, her hair down, and her glasses off. Ethan stared at her as his mouth suddenly felt dry as cotton.

"Ethan, are you staying here too?" Naomi asked. Tommy looked at how Ethan was currently incapable of responding, so he decided to speak for him.

"Well, I figured it would be best, you know, untied front and all." He said, smirking inside as he used the excuse Ethan gave him.

"Oh." Naomi said. She walked off to the side to place her discarded clothes and glasses somewhere. Ethan watched her. Tommy leaned over to Ethan.

"You're sure I don't need to worry?" Tommy whispered. Ethan stared at Naomi as she bent over to put her things down on the floor. Ethan gulped.

"Can I sleep in the lab?" He whispered to Tommy. Tommy chuckled slightly.

"Well, I'm off to bed, goodnight you two." He said to both teenagers.

"Goodnight Dr. Oliver, and thanks for letting me stay." Naomi said. Tommy smiled at her.

"Don't mention it." He said. He gave one last look to Ethan and went upstairs. Naomi looked at Ethan.

"So, we're sharing?" She asked. Ethan gulped.

"I……I could……Uh…..Sleep in the easy chair.."

"But that can't be comfortable-" They began, their voices overlapping each other's.

"No, it looks-"

"I mean, the bed's pretty big, we could always-"

"I mean, if I just re-arrange the pillows, it could be quite comfortable-

"Share." Naomi said. Ethan paused.

"I……sure…….I guess that could…..Work." Ethan said. "Are you tired?" He asked.

"No, not really." Naomi said. She sat on the edge of the bed. Ethan sat on one of the easy chairs, facing her. He had a good view of her legs and slight cleavage and suddenly wondered if staying with Naomi was such a good idea. "Can I ask you something?" She asked.

"Yeah, sure." He said.

"Well, I was just wondering, how did you and Dr. Oliver pull off the whole rescue thing earlier?"

"Well.." Ethan began

_**After Tommy and Ethan dropped Trini off, they drove to the warehouse, stopping a mile before it. They walked the rest of the way and stopped behind some bushes nearby.**_

"_**There's Trent." Tommy said, seeing Trent morphed with Naomi on the roof. **_

"_**And Naomi." Ethan said through clenched teeth. He went to go to the warehouse but Tommy stopped him, pulling him back down.**_

"_**We need a plan." Tommy said. "Look, Trent doesn't know I've come with you, so how about I activate my invisibility power and go up behind Trent."**_

"_**And what do I do?" Ethan asked.**_

"_**Distract Trent long enough for me to get the drop on him." Tommy said. Ethan sighed. He wanted to be the one to beat the crap out of Trent, but he knew that Tommy's plan was a good one and Ethan's main concern was to get Naomi away from Trent safely.**_

"_**Fine." He said. He watched as Tommy vanished before his eyes. **_

"Wait, Dr. Oliver can turn invisible?" Naomi asked after Ethan finished.

"Yeah. It's the gems. They give us these sort of extra powers."

"Oh, what's yours?" Naomi asked.

"Super strength. Which is how I was able to catch you."

"I was wondering why it felt like I landed on something firm." Naomi said, smiling. "What about Conner and Kira?" She asked.

"Super speed and super sonic screaming."

"Oh."

"Yeah." They were both silent for a while.

"You know what really sucks about this all?" She asked.

"What's that?"

"Well.." She began, suddenly feeling a little embarrassed. "Trent was my first kiss….….He turned out to be evil….That doesn't exactly leave me with much faith in the whole dating thing."

"Trent was your first kiss?" Ethan asked, a little surprised. Naomi rolled her eyes.

"I used to go to an all girls boarding school. I'm not very knowing of the whole opposite sex stuff."

"Oh." Ethan said, feeling a little jealous of Trent that he was the one to give Naomi her first kiss.

"Yeah." She said. "I'm sorry, you didn't need to hear about all that."

"It's okay." Ethan said. He looked at her. "And, uh, well, maybe they don't count."

"Huh?" Naomi asked.

"Yeah..Uh, maybe the whole evil factor kind of makes it all invalid." He said. Naomi smirked.

"Huh, I never thought about that." She said. Ethan smiled.

"Oh yeah, actually, it says so in the dating handbook."

"Dating handbook?" Naomi asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure it says that uh, if you are kissed by an evil guy, it never happened." Ethan said. Naomi laughed.

"Well, that's a load off my mind." She said. She looked down, trying to think of something to say, anything at all. Anything that would keep up the façade that nothing horrible had happened. Ethan looked at her.

"Naomi," he said causing her to look up at him. "The others and I would understand if you went back to that whole keeping your distance thing. I mean, after what happened and-"

"You mean because I was used by the bad guys?" She asked. Ethan sighed. "Look, they know that I'm involved with you guys."

"But you don't have to be."

"Let me finish," Naomi said. "It's like one of those things. A Pandora's box, or a can of worms, it's been opened and you can't change what's happened. Me staying away from you guys isn't going to change anything. And, frankly, if stuff is going to happen to me, I'd rather be close to people who can do something about it." She said.

"But now you're in something you had no choice in being a part of."

"Isn't that the same for you guys?" Naomi asked. "I mean, correct me if I'm wrong, but from what I gather, it's like a destiny thing. You were chosen to do it. Maybe you had the choice to walk away, but it was one of those things that was meant to fall into your hands."

"I guess, but-"

"So, you guys were chosen to fight the bad guys, and maybe I'm chosen to stand by and be your friend while you fight the bad guys with Dr. Hart."

"……And Haley." Ethan said. Naomi looked at him.

"Haley knows too?" She asked, surprised.

"Yeah, she's our resident techno wiz. She's the one who programmed the morphers and everything." He said.

"You mean the bracelets, right?"

"Yeah."

"Yeah, that's how I found out."

"Found out what?" Ethan asked.

"That Trent's the white ranger." She said. She sighed. "He came over to my house after school yesterday and that's when he told me about Conner's car. I freaked and tried to get to the phone to call the cops or something. He took the phone from me and I tried to calm him down. He looked completely whacked. I mean, he was pale and everything. I didn't know what he was capable of doing so I just focused on getting as far away from him as possible……Except that, well when I tried to make my daring escape, he kind of stopped me and..choked me." Ethan gripped the armrests of the easy chair, feeling anger towards Trent yet again. "When I was trying to pull him off, his sleeve came up and I saw the bracelet. I remembered seeing the same thing on you, Conner, Kira and Dr. Oliver and I didn't really think it was some sort of fashion trend, and after he backed off it came to me. He was the white ranger. Of course, I made the mistake of voicing my realization and that's when Trent knocked me out." She looked down.

"Naomi?" Ethan asked.

"Yeah?"

"That night you went out with Trent, I asked you a question." He said. Part him knew this wasn't the time to go into that, but he wanted to know. "I asked you if I had talked to you before Trent and you had kissed, would we be together." Naomi sighed, remembering.

"And I told you it wasn't relevant at the time."

"Because you were with him."

"You want to know if it would've made a difference?" She asked. Ethan nodded.

"I know this isn't the time, and I know I'm probably the most insensitive guy in the universe-"

"No, it's okay." Naomi said. She looked away for a second before looking back at Ethan. "Maybe." She said. "I mean, looking back I wish I hadn't gotten involved with him, you know? Maybe things would've been different." She looked at Ethan and saw that that wasn't what he was asking. "I don't know. Honestly." She sighed. "I mean, when I found out you were the blue ranger, it really messed up my head. I mean, I didn't know who you were anymore."

"I know, and I'm sorry I lied to you."

"It's not that." Naomi said. "I mean, I didn't know how I felt about you anymore. I mean before I saw you as Ethan, one of my good friends and the blue ranger as someone who…..Well…..wasn't just a friend……and then, when I found out you and him were one in the same it just confused me. And then, when you told me it wasn't a dirty trick and that you liked me I…..I just didn't know how to deal. I don't know, maybe that's why I was so determined to make Trent out to be some sort of perfect boyfriend. I wanted some sort of clarity on my emotions." She paused. "I just went into some long speech just to answer a simple question." She realized.

"It's okay." Ethan said. "I mean, I understand, it's complicated."

"It is." She looked down. "And I'm not making it any easier. Ethan, earlier…..I did……try to kiss you." She admitted. Ethan's head snapped up, staring at her. He had been so sure that he had been imagining things.

"You did?" He asked.

"Yeah." She said. Ethan smiled softly and went over to sit beside her. He looked at her and she looked back at him. He then leaned in. Naomi lowered her head. "Ethan, I can't." She said. Ethan looked at her and sat back. "I'm sorry. I just……need some time to figure things out. Figure out how I feel." Ethan looked down.

"Oh."

"I mean, I…I tried to kiss you earlier because I felt like I should. I mean, part of me thinks 'hey, he likes you and you liked his alter ego, so go on'. But, another part of me thinks 'he's your friend'." Ethan nodded, trying his best to understand. Naomi sighed. "I wonder if Lois Lane had it this tough when she discovered Clark Kent's alter ego." She said, trying to make a joke. Ethan gave a half smile. Naomi looked at him. Ethan gently took her hand in his.

"I understand." He said. "Well, at least, I'll do my best to understand." He added honestly. "But, I don't want to force you into anything. I know how I feel about you. If you need some time to figure out how you feel about me, I'll try to live with that." He said. Naomi smiled.

"Thanks." She leaned over and hugged him, giving him a kiss on the cheek. Ethan closed his eyes as he hugged her back. He wished things could be different, but he knew he had to respect Naomi's wishes.

"Well, let's get some sleep." Ethan said as they parted. Naomi nodded. She went and got under the covers as Ethan went to shut off the light in the living room. After the room was engulfed in darkness, he tried to make his way back to the bed. He ended up walking into a table. "Ow." He said as he stubbed his toe.

"Are you all right?" Came Naomi's voice.

"Yeah, just keep talking, I'll follow your voice." He said. Naomi giggled.

"Okay, blah, blah blah blah blah." She said. Ethan laughed as he made his way to the bed. He heard Naomi sit up in the bed. He stretched out his hands, trying to feel out the bed when he felt a soft hand brush against his. He then felt the hand grab onto his. He knew it was Naomi trying to guide him to the bed from where she was. As he got closer, she slid to the other side, making room for him.

"Thanks." He said as he got in the bed and under the covers. Naomi laughed softly.

"No problem." She said. He felt the bed move as she laid down. "Good night." She said.

"Good night." He said, turning to face her. He could see the outline of her features from the moonlight peaking in through the window. He quietly watched as she shut her eyes and slowly fell to sleep with one hand under her head and the other right by her face on the bed. Ethan reached over and placed a hand on hers and ran his thumb over the back of her palm. "I love you, Naomi." He whispered before drifting off to sleep.


	26. Nightmares and Fantasies

As Ethan and Naomi fell asleep downstairs, Kimberly and Tommy were sitting together in his room. Kimberly was lying down and Tommy was sitting up with his back against the headboard.

"I think I'm going to go downstairs and get a glass of water." He said. He went to get out of bed.

"Tommy." Kimberly said. "I really don't think you need to check on them."

"Who said I was going to?" He asked, looking at her. Kimberly rolled her eyes.

"Don't even try that." She said. "You and I both know that's what you're trying to do."

"Fine, fine. Maybe I am. But can you blame me? I've got two teenagers sharing a bed in my living room. Teenagers who are filled with raging hormones." Kimberly sighed and sat up, looking at him.

"I seriously doubt that anything is going on down there." She said. "I mean, come on, don't you remember when we were there age?"

"Yeah, I do, that's why I'm not so sure everything is G-rated downstairs." He said. Kimberly cocked an eyebrow.

"Ah, so let me get this straight." She said as she got up and slid over so she was now straddling Tommy's legs. "Are you saying that if we had been placed in a similar situation when we were younger, you wouldn't have wasted any time in ravishing me?" She asked, sliding her arms around his shoulders. Tommy looked at her.

"I….I didn't say that." He said. Kimberly leaned forward and kissed up and down his neck. She then gently nibbled on his earlobe. Tommy groaned. "Ah……Well…..I……The thought of….doing that……when we were that age did….cross my mind." He said, giving in.

"Are you saying you fantasized about me?" She whispered in his ear before going back to nipping at the lobe.

"May-Maybe once or-or twice." Tommy stuttered.

"Now, did you ever act on said fantasies?" She asked, knowing well the answer.

"N-no." He said. Kimberly smiled and slid off of him, settling back in her side of the bed.

"So, chances are things downstairs _are_ G-rated." She said. Tommy stared at her, shocked by the sudden start and stop of her actions.

"Oh, you are evil." He said. Kimberly smiled.

"Good night, Tommy." She said.

---

The next morning, Ethan and Naomi woke up early. Ethan agreed to walk Naomi home so she could shower and change, since she had been wearing the same clothes for two days as it was, and of course get her things for school. She looked at Ethan as they walked into her room.

"Are you sure you don't want to stop by your house so you can change?" She asked him.

"Nah, I'm fine." He said. Naomi went about getting her books for school.

"If you say so." She said. Suddenly she felt movement behind her. She turned to see Ethan right beside her.

"Why don't you go change, I'll get your books together." He offered. Naomi smiled.

"OK, thanks." She said. She went to leave and then stopped. She turned back to Ethan and before anyone of them could say a word they were kissing passionately. Ethan held her around her waist and pulled her close to him. Naomi's hands wildly went from his shoulders to his face, desperate to feel every part of him. After a while they realized they needed to breath and parted slightly, their foreheads touching. "Wow." She whispered against his lips. Ethan smiled.

"Yeah, wow." He replied. Naomi went to kiss him again but suddenly his body went stiff. Naomi looked at him. His eyes were wide and his mouth was slack. Naomi backed away as he fell over on his side. There was a white blade sticking out from his back.

"Oh my god." She gasped. She kneeled beside him. "Ethan…Ethan say something.." She said. She lifted his head and laid it on her lap. "Ethan! Don't do this to me, come on!" She begged, tears falling down her face.

"He isn't waking up." Said a sinister voice. Naomi looked up and saw the white ranger standing where Ethan had been before. He calmly reached down and pulled his drago sword out of Ethan.

"Tr-Trent?" Naomi whimpered. Trent ran his hand over the blade of the knife, wiping it clean of Ethan's blood. Naomi jumped up and ran out of the room. She found herself running through some sort of woods, lost. She blindly swatted at weak branches and leaves as she ran through them. She could feel Trent chasing her. Naomi kept running but soon her legs began to feel heavy and she felt herself moving slower and trying to keep from falling as her legs felt like they were about to give up any second.

"Gotcha!" Trent said as he caught up to her and grabbed her with one arm around her waist.

"No! Help! Somebody!" She screamed.

"No one's coming to your rescue this time." Trent sneered. She felt him put his knife to her throat. She gasped as he slid the weapon across her skin, drawing blood. Her hands weakly went to her wounded neck as he dropped her on the ground.

Naomi sat up, awaking from her dream. She panted as her hands flew to her neck, feeling for any type of wounds or blood. She blinked as she realized she felt nothing. She then realized where she was. She was still in Dr. Oliver's darkened living room. _It was just a dream._ She thought. She brought her wrist up and put her other hand on her watch, pressing one of the side buttons so the small light would ignite, showing her the time. It was three o'clock in the morning. She sighed and settled back into bed, trying to go back to sleep, but after that frightening dream, she couldn't seem to be able to do so. She turned to her side so she was facing Ethan. He was sleeping peacefully on his back with one arm thrown over above his head and the other on his stomach. She slowly slid closer to him and put her hand on top of his. It was sort of a reassurance to herself to make sure he was actually there beside her. She sighed and rested her head on his chest as she closed her eyes and willed herself to sleep. About four hours later, Ethan eyes slowly opened as sleep slowly left him. He lifted the arm that was over his head and went to put it down only to feel something like a shoulder under his hand. He looked down and saw that Naomi was sleeping with her head on his chest. He wondered for a moment how he didn't feel her presence on him when he woke up but he couldn't dwell on it since he heard her moan gently as she woke up. She lifted her head and saw that Ethan was awake.

"Oh, hey." She said, sitting up, feeling a little nervous that she was sleeping on him.

"Hey." He replied. He sat up as well. "How'd you sleep?" He asked. Naomi sighed.

"Honestly? Not to well. Had a nightmare." She said. Ethan looked at her.

"Want to talk about it?" He asked. Naomi looked up at him. She remembered how heated it had gotten between them in her dream and decided that dreaming about kissing him after what she said the night before wouldn't be a good idea.

"Actually, I don't remember it, I just know it wasn't a good dream." She lied.

"Which is why you were cuddling up to me like I was your teddy bear?" Ethan asked with a smirk. Naomi looked down, feeling a little more embarrassed. "Not that I mind, of course." Ethan added. Naomi laughed.

"Sorry about that, I just…"

"Needed some comfort after having a bad dream, I get it." Ethan said with an understanding look. Naomi felt bad because it seemed like she had just used him. Naomi wanted to tell him she didn't mean to use him when she heard someone coming down the stairs.

"Oh, hey, morning guys." Tommy said as he came in to view, dressed for work.

"Good morning." They chorused. He looked at both of them. "Is there something wrong, Dr. Oliver?" Naomi asked. Tommy sighed.

"Well, yes. I, uh, well, Naomi, I'm not exactly one to condone skipping school, but maybe it would be safer if you…well.."

"Skipped school?" Naomi asked.

"Uh, yeah." Tommy said. "I just think that perhaps it would be best to stay away from Trent." He looked at Ethan. "Ad maybe it would be a good idea if you did the same." He said.

"So you want us both to skip school?" Ethan asked. He leaned back in the bed. "Sure, I could use a mental health day." He said sarcastically. Naomi rolled her eyes. She looked at Tommy.

"But, wouldn't us not coming to school show Trent that he got to you guys?" She asked.

"Frankly, I'm not worried about what he thinks, I'm more worried of what he might try to do." Tommy said. Ethan sat up.

"Dr. Oliver's right." He said.

"Okay, let me rephrase-_I _don't want Trent to see he got to _me_." She said. Ethan looked at her.

"Naomi, the guy has hit you, grabbed you, choked you, kidnapped you, held a knife to your throat and dangled you off a roof." He said.

"Thanks for the recount of events, Ethan." Naomi said, rolling her eyes yet again. She climbed out of the bed and sighed, turning her back to the two of them

"I'm just saying this guy is a total psycho." Ethan said. He got up and stood behind her, putting his hands on her arms. "I don't want him to hurt you anymore than he already has." He said gently. Naomi sighed. She turned around and faced him. She looked down.

"Fine." She said in a resigned tone. She looked over at Tommy as well. "I'll stay home." Tommy gave her a look. "Okay, I'll stay here." She corrected. "I'm going to change back into my clothes. Just because I'm stuck here all day doesn't mean I have to be in pajamas all day." She walked over to where her clothes and glasses were and went up to the bathroom with them. Ethan sighed and looked at Tommy.

"Something tells me she's not going to be happy today." Ethan said.

"I sort of thought of that. I called Haley and she said she'd have Cyberspace open during school hours so you guys can stop by. And as for transportation," he said. He tossed a set of keys to Ethan. "You have no idea how kind Kimberly is for letting you use her car for the day." Ethan caught the keys and smiled.

"Thanks, Dr. Oliver." He said. He looked over to see Kimberly and Trini walk down the stairs. "Thanks, Dr. Hart, for lending out your car." Kimberly smiled at him and walked over to him.

"No problem." She said. She got a little closer to him. "I find one dent on my car, you are so dead." She whispered. Ethan looked at her and nodded quickly.

"Uh, yes ma'am." He said. Kimberly smiled and patted his shoulder as she walked to the kitchen with her daughter. Ethan looked at Tommy who was simply grinning. "Dude, she's scary." Ethan said. Tommy chuckled.

"I know. That's one of the reasons why I love her." Tommy smiled. "And don't call me dude." He said. After they ate a quick breakfast, the three of them left so Tommy had time to drop Kimberly off at the hospital, drop Trini at school and go to school himself. Ethan went about putting the bed away as Naomi came back downstairs dressed, with her glasses on and her hair up in a braid.

"Bathroom's free." She announced. "I'll finish taking care of the sofa." She said.

"Thanks." Ethan said. He went to get his clothes from Tommy's room and went to the bathroom to change. When he came down he found Naomi sitting on the sofa. He came over and joined her. Naomi looked at him.

"So, we're stuck here all day?" She asked.

"Actually, no." Ethan said. "We can go to Cyberspace."

"Doesn't that go against the whole distance from Trent thing? He works there."

"No, Dr. Oliver called Haley earlier and she said she'll be open during school hours, so it'll just be us."

"Oh." Naomi said.

"And, maybe we can like go other places, you know?" Ethan said.

"As long as it isn't school, and after three o'clock, it can't be anywhere but here, right?" Naomi asked bitterly. Ethan sighed. Naomi took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, I'm not exactly being very….well, positive I guess." She said. "I just.." She gave an angry cry through clenched teeth. "I hate this so much! I mean, you can't let this….not even human thing dictate your life." Ethan simply watched her as she went on an angry rant. "I mean, he's just a tiny, little insect." She went on, accentuating her point by making a tiny gesture with her thumb and forefinger. "And he-"

"Naomi, weren't you the one who told me I couldn't kill him?" Ethan asked. "It seems to me now you want a piece of him."

"Well, yeah, I mean he's interrupting my normal daily life." She said. Ethan sighed and put a friendly arm around her shoulders.

"If you're going to be involved with the whole craziness going on here, there's one thing you should know-our normal daily lives get interrupted frequently." He said. Naomi looked at him and gave a small laugh.

"Okay, I get it." She said. Ethan laughed along with her. "So, how are we supposed to get to Cyberspace anyway?" She asked. Ethan grinned and pulled something out of his pocket. Naomi saw that it was a set of keys.

"Dr. Hart lent us her car for the day." He said. Naomi's eyebrows went up as she also grinned.

"Nice." She said. An hour later, the two of them drove to Cyberspace. They walked in together to find Haley sitting behind the counter reading.

"Hey, Haley." Ethan said. Haley looked up and smiled at them both.

"Hey guys." She said. As Ethan had predicted, the place was completely empty except for Naomi, Ethan and Haley. They walked up to the counter and sat on a pair of stools. She looked at Naomi. "I heard what happened. Are you-"

"Please don't ask if I'm okay. It seems to be everyone's motto lately." Naomi sighed. "And, yeah, I'm fine." Haley smiled.

"Well, guys, I turned on two computers in case you two want to do some gaming. The TV's over there, as you both know, we've got drinks, magazines, anything you can possibly want." Haley said. Naomi and Ethan both smiled. "So, can I get you guys anything?"

"Uh, I think for right now, I'm going to try Sea War 2." Ethan said. Haley smiled and handed him the disc for it. "Sweet." Ethan grinned. He looked at Naomi. "You want to play?" He asked. Naomi shook her head.

"I think I'm just going to sit here for a bit. I'll come over a little later." She said.

"Okay." Ethan said as he went to one of the active computers and put in the game. Naomi watched him and smiled. She turned back to Haley.

"So, now that things are like, revealed, how are you going to deal with Trent?" Naomi asked.

"You mean am I going to fire him?" Haley asked. Naomi shrugged. "I thought about it. But Tommy told me if I treated him any differently now, he and the other bad guys would know I'm involved with all of this, and I guess he wants to keep me off of their radar. And besides, how would I explain firing him? Knowing how his father is, he'd probably try to sue me for illegal termination of employment or something." She gave Naomi an apologetic look. "Sorry."

"No, it's okay." Naomi said. "I wasn't really expecting you to fire him."

"As much as I want to wring the little twerp's neck, I'm just supposed to act as if nothing's changed." Haley said.

"Geez, you get dangled off a roof and suddenly everyone's very protective of you." Naomi said. Haley smiled.

"Hey, I care about Tommy, Kira, Conner and Ethan and they care about you, therefore I care about you. Anyone tries to mess with those I care about, they're not people I like."

"Thanks, Haley." Naomi said.

"YES!" Ethan yelled out suddenly, causing both women to stare at him. He looked over and gave a small smile. "I beat the second level." He said. Naomi and Haley laughed and shook their heads. He played for about another hour and a half while Naomi ordered a chocolate milkshake and watched some T.V. After Ethan finished playing he returned the disc to Haley, ordered a blueberry smoothie and then went and joined Naomi at the T.V. The only thing that was on was daytime talk shows on most of the channels, so they went to Cartoon Network and watched Baby Looney Tunes.

"I don't get this show." Ethan said. Naomi took a sip of her shake and looked at him.

"You don't?" She asked.

"No. I mean, why the heck is Lola Bunny in it if she didn't meet Bugs and all of them until Space Jam, where they're all adults?" He asked. "And where's Porky Pig? Or Elmer Fudd? Or Road Runner and the Coyote? And how can Sylvester and Tweety be in the same Day Care Center if as adults, Sylvester always tries to eat Tweety?" Naomi stared at him.

"You've thought about this way too much." She said.

"What?" Ethan asked. "These are all valid questions." Naomi laughed and shook her head.

"Sure they are." She said. They drank their drinks and continued watching T.V. and commenting every so often on what they were watching. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles came on and Naomi simply averted her eyes sarcastically.

"Something wrong?" Ethan asked.

"I'm sorry, I refuse to watch this. The original cartoon show of this was _so _much better. I mean, April as a scientist? _Please. _She's a reporter!"

"Ah, you were a fan of the original cartoon?" Ethan asked. Naomi looked at him.

"Uh huh. I remember this one time, when I was about four or five, I went to this party for a friend from school, this was before I went to boarding school of course, and like it was one of those things where it was hosted by like party pro people. Anyway, at one point, they had us all play Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The room was split in boys and girls. The boys were then separated into good guys as in the turtles and Splinter and bad guys as in Shredder and folks like that, while the girls were separated into Aprils and….oh man, I can't for the life of me remember the name of the other girl on it. Do you remember her? She was like all frumpy like with glasses and stuff, I want to say her name was Jeannette, but I don't think so. Anyway, so we start to play. The bad guys grab up all us girls and the good guys are supposed to come and save us. I don't think the adults thought that out because in the first five minutes, one of the 'Shredders' got a bloody nose from one of the 'Michelangelos'. This must sound oh so incredibly boring to you." Naomi concluded. Ethan laughed and shook his head.

"Nah, it's cool." Ethan said. He lifted the remote and shut off the T.V. He looked at Naomi. "You want to head out of here?" He asked.

"Okay." Naomi said. They went over to the counter and handed their empty cups to Haley. They said their goodbyes to her and walked out. They got into the car. "So, where to now?" She asked.

"Some place where I seriously doubt Trent will be." Ethan said as he drove off. They soon found themselves at the hospital. Naomi's face paled.

"What are we doing here?" She asked. Ethan got out of the car and went to her side, opening the door.

"Well, I wanted to stop by and tell Kira about what happened." Ethan said.

"Oh." Naomi said. She got out of the car and followed him inside. They found Eric and Mrs. McKnight sitting in the waiting room.

"Hey Eric, Mrs. McKnight." Ethan said as they approached them. They looked up at Ethan and Naomi and gave them weak smiles. "Any news on Conner?" He asked.

"No." Mrs. McKnight said softly. She looked at Naomi, and saw that she had never seen her before. "Hello, I'm Conner's mother." She said softly. Naomi stared at her. Ethan looked at Naomi.

"I………I-I'm Na-Naomi." Naomi muttered softly. Mrs. McKnight gave her a warm smile.

"It's nice to meet you, Naomi." She said.

"Why aren't you guys in school?" Eric asked.

"Uh…Half day." Ethan said. "Where's Kira?"

"She's with Conner." Mrs. McKnight said.

"Can we go in to see them?" Ethan asked. Naomi stared at him. _We? Who said I was going in? No, no way, I am not-_ Naomi thought to herself but was cut off by Mrs. McKnight telling Ethan they could go in.

"I-I-I think I'll just wait here for you." Naomi stammered. Ethan sighed and gently grabbed her elbow and pushed her before him as he walked to the room. "Ethan," Naomi said as she tried to get out of Ethan's grasp. "Ethan, stop." She said. "I can't do this."

"Do what? See two friends?" Ethan asked. Naomi looked at him.

"I-I-I can't. Please Ethan, don't make me do this." She pleaded. Ethan walked around her so he was now facing her.

"Naomi, Conner and Kira are your friends, what-"

"I just can't see them like this knowing I could have prevented it!" Naomi finally yelled with tears in her eyes.

"What? Are you still thinking you should have left with Trent after the fight?" Ethan asked.

"He wouldn't have messed up Conner's car. He wouldn't have been able to, I would've been with him."

"Unless he ditched you or knocked you out." Ethan said. "We all know he's done the latter." He sighed and put his hands on her shoulders. "Naomi, come on. No one blames you for what happened."

"You say that now. Bu what if Kira blames me, or Conner blames me when he wakes up?"

"They won't, I promise you." He said. Naomi sighed and leaned forward, resting her forehead against his. After about a minute or so, she stood up straight.

"Okay, fine." She said. Ethan put an arm around her shoulder and led her to Conner's room. He gently knocked on the door to announce his and Naomi's presence before walking in. Kira's head shot up. The knock on the door had scared her. She looked over and cleared her throat. "Come in!" She called. She arched her back slightly to get rid of any sleepiness that had imbedded itself within her back. Ethan, followed by Naomi walked in. Kira smiled.

"Ethe, Naomi....hey." She smiled and stood up and went over to her friends. "How are you guys?" She asked while giving them both hugs. Ethan smiled.

"I'm good." He replied. Both teens turned at looked at Naomi.

"I......I'm sorry Kira."

"Sorry?" Kira asked. "What are you sorry for?" She asked. Naomi's eyes fell on Conner and her knees slightly buckled beneath her. She fell back against the wall.

"Ethan, I can't do this." Naomi whispered as tears filled her eyes. She opened the door and ran out of the room. Kira looked at Ethan who simply sighed.

"What's going on Ethan?" She asked. Ethan looked at her.

"She blames herself for the accident. Which, wasn't exactly an accident." Ethan sighed.

"What are you talking about?" Kira asked. "Did Naomi-"

"No, no," Ethan said quickly. "Trent did it. Trent cut the brake line of Conner's car." Ethan said. Kira's eyes widened.

"What? Why because Conner and him fought?"

"That might have been a small part of it, but, there's also the fact that Trent's the white ranger." He said. Kira looked at him. She took a deep breath and then let it out, turning away from him as she rubbed her forehead. "Are you okay?" He asked. Kira sighed and turned back to him.

"For some reason, it all makes sense. Trent becoming this mean guy when he started off kind of nice and all that. I just can't believe we didn't pick up on it sooner."

"It's not like the guy wore a neon sign saying 'hey, I'm the evil dude that's been kicking your butts'." Ethan said.

"I know." Kira said. She ran her fingers through her hair. "I'm going to go check on Naomi." She said, going for the door. Ethan stopped her.

"No, it's cool. I'll go find her." Ethan said. Kira shook her head.

"I need to stretch my legs a bit anyway, you stay here with Conner." She said. She gave a weak smile before leaving the room in hopes of finding Naomi. Ethan looked over at Conner and sat beside his bed.

---

Kira looked around the hospital for the bit before deciding to try the ladies room. She went in and saw Naomi sitting by the sinks. Naomi looked up at her as she walked in and her chin quivered as tears cascaded down her cheeks. Kira went over and sat beside her.

"Kira, I'm so sorry, I-" Naomi tried to get out through her tears.

"Naomi, I don't blame you. You shouldn't blame yourself." Kira said softly. Naomi put her head in her hands. Kira sighed and put her arm around Naomi's shoulders. "You want to talk about it?" Kira asked. Naomi looked at her and told her everything that happened.

---

Ethan sighed and looked at Conner.

"Hey, buddy." Ethan said. "Listen, man, you really got to wake up soon. I mean, Kira's a wreck, and, as much as I put on the front of being my super cool self, I need you to wake up too. And…Naomi needs you to wake up." Ethan said. "She blames herself for this whole thing and if you woke up, she'd feel better. I……I need her to feel better. I love her. I'm not saying that I don't care if you wake up for my benefit. You're my friend, and you and Kira have made me feel more then just some computer geek and if you…….If you weren't around, I don't think I could handle it. So, wake up." Ethan pleaded. "Please."


	27. Roadside Assistance

After a while, Kira was able to convince Naomi to come back to the room with her. They walked in to find Ethan sitting beside Conner. He looked up at the sound of the door opening and gave Naomi a soft smile, something, he hoped, she could draw some sort of strength from. Naomi let out a pained breath and stood by the wall and Kira slid inside the room, shutting the door behind her.

"Why don't you go sit by him?" Kira asked Naomi, meaning Conner. Naomi's eyes fixated on Conner's seemingly lifeless body. Kira gently stroked Naomi's hair. Naomi closed her eyes and nodded as she slowly walked over to where Ethan was. Ethan stood up so she could have the chair. Naomi sat down beside Conner. She stared at Conner, opening her mouth trying to think of something to say, but she couldn't. She got up.

"I'm sorry, I can't." She said, her eyes filling with fresh tears. Ethan went over to her and put a comforting arm around her shoulders.

"It's okay." He said softly. "We can leave." He said. Naomi nodded, liking the idea. He cast an apologetic look to Kira. Kira shook her head, saying it was all right. Ethan and Naomi left the room, but not before Kira hugged Naomi gently. They went back to Kimberly's car and drove back to Tommy's house. Ethan looked at Naomi as he drove.

"I'm sorry..For springing this on you like that." Ethan apologized. Naomi sighed and looked at him.

"It's okay." She said. She looked out her window. "I understand why you did it. I mean, I guess I had to see Kira and Conner at some point." She said softly. Ethan took one hand off the wheel and reached over, taking her hand in his in a comforting manner. Naomi looked over at him and gave him a weak smile. He looked at her and gave her a smile. Naomi's smile widened a bit as if drawing strength from his. She turned her head back to the front gazing out of the windshield when she saw something that caused her to gasp. Ethan turned to see what was wrong.

"Holy crap!" He exclaimed. There stood Elsa. He slammed on the breaks as a general reflex to seeing someone in the road. Naomi put her hands up to avoid smacking her head against the dashboard. Ethan looked at Naomi. "Are you all right?" He asked. Naomi nodded.

"Uh huh." She said. She slowly sat up. "Wh..What is she doing here?" Naomi asked.

"I don't know. And maybe its best we don't stay and find out." He said. At any other moment he would've gladly faced off with the enemy, but since Naomi was with him, he only cared about getting her away. He went to start the car and drive away but the car didn't move, at least not how they expected it to move. Instead of moving to the side and forward like Ethan intended, the back of the car seemed to elevate. He stepped harder on the gas and they could actually hear the tires screeching, but still nothing.

"What's going on?" Naomi asked fearfully. Ethan turned back and saw Zeltrax holding up the back of the car.

"Come out and play, blue ranger." Zeltrax bellowed, his voice so deep it penetrated the inside of the car. He released the car and it slammed back onto the road. They could hear the glass on the back headlights breaking from the impact. Naomi gave a startled yelp as she braced herself against the dashboard and Ethan braced himself against the steering wheel. Ethan quickly slammed on the brakes to avoid surging forward from the lack of resistance.

"Wh-What do we do?" Naomi asked. Ethan looked at Naomi.

"What time is it?" He asked.

"What? What does that have to do with-"

"Naomi, what time is it?" He asked. Naomi sighed and looked at her watch.

"2:30, what's the point?" She asked. Ethan groaned.

"Dr. Oliver's got class, I can't get him for back up."

"What about Kira?" Naomi asked.

"Blue ranger!" Elsa called out tauntingly. The car jolted forward as if it was kicked. Ethan swung back and saw Zeltrax was kicking the back of the car.

"She doesn't have her bracelet." Ethan said. He looked at Naomi. "Stay here." He said. He went to unbuckle his seat belt. Naomi grabbed his hand.

"You're not seriously considering fighting them, are you?" She asked. "Alone?"

"What choice do I have?" Ethan asked. "They're asking for it." He added, casting a hard look at Elsa.

"But there's two of them, and only one of you." Naomi pointed out worriedly. Ethan looked at her.

"I can handle it, don't worry." He said. He climbed out of the car. "Lock the doors." He said. Naomi went and pushed the locking button down as soon as he shut the door. Ethan took a deep breath and backed away from the car, ready to fight, when he noticed Zeltrax was gone. "Where's your boyfriend?" He asked Elsa.

"I thought maybe we should keep this one on one." She said. "And he's **not **my boyfriend." She added with a glare. Ethan smirked.

"Whatever you say." He retorted. Elsa gave an angry cry and went to charge at him. "DINO THUNDER! POWER UP!" Ethan said quickly as he morphed. Naomi watched him. Although she knew he was the blue ranger, this was the first time she had seen him morph. Naomi had to admit it was a fascinating sight. She watched as the blue uniform covered his body and he got in a fighting stance, ready to go against Elsa. The two began to fight. Ethan swiftly blocked all of Elsa's punches and kicks and she did the same for his. Suddenly, Elsa got in a lucky shot as she kicked him in the gut, sending him sprawling onto his back on the road.

"Ethan!" Naomi exclaimed worriedly. Elsa slowly stalked up to him and roughly grabbed his shoulder, pulling him to his feet. Ethan caught her off guard with a round house kick to the mid-section. Elsa stumbled back and glared at Ethan. Naomi watched them with baited breath, which was why what happened next caught her completely by surprise. The driver's side window smashed open. Naomi barely had time to duck and cover her face to avoid the flying shards of glass as she gave a surprised yelp. She felt a strong hand reach in and grab her arm. Naomi looked up to see Trent in civilian form.

"Surprise." He said in a sarcastic tone. He yanked on her arm, pulling her to the driver's side. Naomi screamed.

"Let me go!" She said. Ethan looked over to see what was going on.

"Leave her alone!" Ethan yelled. He went to help her. Elsa chuckled and tackled him to the ground. Ethan soon realized the only reason she was there was to keep him away from Naomi and Trent. Naomi fought against Trent tooth and nail as he tried to pull her out the window, but he was stronger then she was. He dragged her across the broken class on the driver's seat. Naomi gave a pain filled gasped as she felt the shards of glass dug into her jeans and scratched the back of her legs. In her panic and fearful state, Naomi's eyes cast over to under the steering wheel where she saw a club (A/N: As in those things people put on their steering wheels so which makes it that like if someone breaks in they can't move it.) _Those things are heavy…I can hit him with it. _She thought to herself. She tried to grab it with her free hand but she couldn't reach it. Trent reached his other hand in and popped open the lock on the door. Naomi leaned in and tried to bite the hand that was pulling her. Trent growled and added a large amount of pressure to the bruise on her wrist. Naomi whimpered in pain. The door opened as Trent successfully pulled her out of the car and dropped her on the ground away from the car. Naomi took a deep breath and slowly got up.

"Naomi, run!" Ethan yelled as he fought against Elsa. Naomi kept her eyes on Trent. Trent simply smirked.

"Yeah, Naomi, run." He said. "I'll give you a ten second start." He said. Naomi gulped and bravely stood her ground.

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" She said. Trent's smirked widened.

"Well, hey, if you want me to kill you, sure why don't you just stay right there." He said. He slowly stalked up to her. "I suggest you take that ten second start." He said lowly. Naomi stared into his eyes defiantly. "Ten." He began. "Nine-"

"If you really wanted to kill me, you'd shut up and do it." She snapped out. Ethan shoved Elsa off of him and looked over at Naomi and Trent. She was just standing there. _What the hell is she doing? _Ethan thought to himself. "I'm not scared of you." Naomi said to Trent. Trent's eyes narrowed angrily. He raised his hand and backhanded her with such force that she fell to the ground with a grunt. Elsa grinned and turned back at Ethan and continued attacking him. Ethan fought her with renewed force, hell-bent on getting rid of her so he could help Naomi. Naomi went to get back up only to have Trent kick her in the stomach, knocking her down. He reached down and bunched up her braid in his hand, yanking her head up to his level. Naomi groaned.

"You scared now?" He asked, putting his face next to hers. Naomi looked at him from the corner of her eyes. The adrenaline coursing through her made a plan formulate in her head rather quickly. Her hands shot up and gripped his wrist so quickly that he released her hair from surprise. She turned her head and sank her teeth into the flesh of his hand. Trent gave an angry and pain filled yowl as he stumbled back as Naomi released his hand. Naomi quickly rolled to her side and lifted her leg, bending it at the knee before she straightened her leg, her foot slamming against his groin. Trent grunted as he fell to his knees, putting his good hand on the ground to support himself as he nursed the other against his chest. Naomi then rolled onto her back, pushing herself up to her feet and ran to the car. She leaned in the open door and grabbed the club. She turned back to Trent, holding the club up by her shoulder. She ran and slammed the device against his shoulder, knocking him flat on his back. Naomi then planted her foot against his neck, holding the club by her shoulder again.

"No, are you?" She asked. She added more pressure on his neck, causing Trent to cough. "How does it feel to have someone choke _you_?" Trent glared at her. He shoved her foot off of him and swung around, sweeping his leg through hers and knocking her off her feet. Naomi fell on her back and the club skidded out her grasp. Trent panted as he rose. Naomi watched him carefully to see whether he was going to try and attack her again. He rubbed his neck and shoulder. He looked over at Elsa.

"Let's go." He said. He cast a glare at Naomi before he and Elsa disappeared through an invisportal. Ethan powered down and ran to Naomi's side as she went to get up. Ethan grabbed her arm and helped her.

"What the hell was that?" Ethan asked, shocked. Naomi brushed some dirt off the seat of her pants.

"It was pretty clear that the only reason he came down here is to scare me and piss you off. And I wasn't going to play into his hands." She said. "Trent's a bully. You take the fear away and all bullies are is assholes, and then you beat the crap out of them with a club." She smirked. Ethan sighed. She went to bend down to pick up the club when pain erupted in her body. Naomi whimpered and wrapped her arms around her stomach. Ethan grabbed her.

"What's wrong?" He asked. Naomi winced.

"I think the adrenaline made me forget the major pain Trent caused me, but I'm suddenly remembering it." She said.

"Come on, let's get out of here." He said. He pulled one of her arms and put it across his shoulders as he held onto her waist with one arm. "Put your weight on me." He said. Naomi nodded and let him gently make her stand upright and then take her to the car. He opened the passenger side door and slid her in, gently closing the door as soon as she was in. He went back and picked up the club. He returned it to its former place-under the dashboard-and then swept the glass off the driver's seat, careful not to cut himself. After all the shards seemed to be off the seat, he climbed in and shut the door. He looked over at Naomi who had her head rested against her window, asleep. _I guess being Xena tires a girl out._ He thought to himself with a smile. He reached over and gently smoothed some of her hair down which had become frazzled during her altercation with Trent. He reached over and buckled her seatbelt then buckled his own, shutting the driver's side door. He then drove the rest of the way to Dr. Oliver's house with one thought in his head: _I really hope Dr. Hart doesn't kill me because of what happened to her car._

---

AN: Hey guys, sorry that this chapter isn't as long as our other ones, Teal and I just kind of got some writer's block but instead of making all our loyal fans wait forver, we decided to just upload this. You still love us, right?-Becky


	28. Binding

Ethan pulled up to Tommy's house and saw the black jeep there, indicating that Dr. Oliver and Trini were home. He took off his seat belt and got out, going around to the passenger side to Naomi.

"Where were you guys?" Ethan heard Tommy ask. He turned and saw the older man standing at the door of the house. He figured that he must've heard them pull up. His eyes fell on the car. "What happened?" Ethan opened Naomi's door and slid off her seatbelt.

"Back of the car-Zeltrax happened, window-Trent happened." Ethan replied, adding a little more venom when he spoke Trent's name. He bent down beside Naomi and shook her gently. "Naomi." He said softly. "Naomi, wake up." He said. Naomi sighed as she woke up, yawning a bit. She looked at Ethan. "Hey, we're back at Dr. O's." He said. He took her arm and helped her get out of the car. Tommy saw that her hair was messy and frazzled more so then simple car bed-head.

"Don't tell me Trent attack-" Tommy began, looking at her.

"Don't worry; I think I've made it so he'll think twice before messing with me again." Naomi grinned. Ethan sighed and helped her walk into the house. Tommy stepped aside to let them go pass then followed them. Ethan eased Naomi onto the living room couch. Naomi tried to sit up but found it added pressure to her hurt stomach so she laid on her side, putting her head on one of the throw pillows that rested against the armrest. Ethan bent down and lifted her legs up onto the couch so she was lying completely on it.

"Is there some way you can run interference with Dr. Hart or something about the car?" Ethan asked Tommy.

"What about the car?" Came Kimberly's voice. Ethan jumped and turned around.

"Wh-What are you doing here…So early.." Ethan stammered. Kimberly narrowed her eyes and walked over to him.

"I didn't have any more patients and my shift ended early today. Now, what about the car?" She asked. Ethan paled. "Ethan." Kimberly growled. Tommy's eyes widened as he quickly got in between the two.

"Now, Kim, sweetie, you can't really blame Ethan it-" He began, trying to save Ethan's hide from the wrath of Kim. Kimberly's eyes went wide and she shoved past the two men and ran out the door. Tommy winced. "5…..4……3…" He said softly.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Kimberly shrieked so loudly Tommy wouldn't be surprised if it could be heard all the way in Angel Grove, or even Florida. Naomi sat up; wincing at the pain that caused to her stomach and Trini came pounding down the stairs.

"What's going on?" The little girl asked. "Why did my mommy scream?" Tommy looked at her.

"Uh, it's nothing, angel, just go back upstairs." He said. Trini turned around and went back up the stairs. Tommy ran his hand through his short hair and ran outside to check on Kimberly. He found her standing by her car, her eyes wide as saucers. "Kim?" He asked gently. She didn't respond as she was transfixed by the damage done to her car. "Honey?" He asked again, putting a hand on her shoulder. "You okay?" He asked.

"My car…" She whimpered. Tommy gently too her arm and led her back into the house.

"I know, sweetie, I know." He said. He led her to the couch. Naomi quickly pulled her knees up, moving her legs out of the way to make room for the catatonic doctor. Tommy silently thanked the young girl and eased Kimberly into the seat. He kneeled before her. "Can I get you something? Water, tea?" He asked. Kimberly's eyes glowed with anger as she slowly turned to look at Ethan.

"I want his head on a stick." She said lowly. Ethan gulped and took a step back.

"Dr. Hart, in his, well, our defense, we were attacked." Naomi said. Kimberly blinked and looked at her.

"What?"

"Yeah, she's right. Zeltrax lifted the back of the car and kicked it and Trent broke the window." Ethan said quickly. Kimberly instantly went into maternal/doctor mode and got up, going to Naomi's side.

"Are you all right? Did Trent hurt you?" She asked, checking Naomi's face for any visible bruises…..Well, any **new **visible bruises.

"No, I'm fine." Naomi lied. Ethan gave her a look. He went over and poked her stomach, causing her to hiss.

"You're not fine." Ethan said. Naomi glared at him.

"Thanks a lot." She said through gritted teeth. Kimberly looked at her.

"What happened?" She asked.

"What didn't happen is more like it." Ethan said, answering for Naomi. "He grabbed her through the broken window, dragged her out, slapped her, kicked-"

"Ethan, will you shut up!" Naomi snarled. "I'm fine, really."

"Well, I'd feel better if I knew that for sure. Now, the window broke, meaning broken glass, did you get cut?" Kimberly asked.

"I might've gotten a little scratched up on the back of my legs, but it's nothing." Naomi said. Kimberly took her arm and gently pulled her up to her feet.

"Let me see." She said. She turned to Tommy. "You've got a first aid kit in the bathroom, right?" She asked. Tommy nodded. "Good." She took Naomi up the stairs to the bathroom to get a better assessment of the girl's wounds, much to Naomi's chagrin. Ethan let out a long breath of air once the two ladies disappeared upstairs.

"Guess I'm off the hook about the car, right?" Ethan asked. Tommy looked at him and chuckled, shaking his head slightly.

---

Kimberly took Naomi to the bathroom and shut the door. Naomi stood by the sink.

"So, where'd you get hurt? Just your stomach and legs?" Kimberly asked. Naomi nodded. "Okay, let me see." She said gently. Naomi looked a little uncomfortable. "Think about it as just how it is when you get a physical."

"Not helping, I hate the undressing part of the physical." Naomi sighed. Kimberly gave her a soft smile.

"Don't worry; it's just us girls here." Kimberly said. Naomi sighed, knowing Kimberly wanted to see if she was all right. She nodded in a sign of going along with it and unbuttoned her jeans.

----

Trent sat in his room in the large Mercer Mansion with ice on his bruised shoulder. His body was filled with rage at the fact that Naomi fought against him.

"Now, explain to me why it is you insisted on taking Zeltrax and Elsa down there?" Anton asked as he walked into his son's room.

"I needed Zeltrax to get the blue ranger out and Elsa to distract him while I-"

"Terrorized your ex-girlfriend?" Anton asked. He gave a mean chuckle. "You really are just a pathetic teenage boy." He said. Trent glared at him.

"Excuse me?" He said in a tone that was dangerously close to a growl.

"You're the scorned little boy, trying to get revenge on the stupid girl who broke your little heart. It's so sweet." Anton smirked. Trent's eyes narrowed angrily as he rose to his feet, setting the ice pack aside.

"I'm not trying to get revenge." Trent snarled, getting into Anton's face. Anton stared right back at him, his demeanor calm cool and collected, which only enraged Trent more.

"Then what was it that caused you to attack some girl who has nothing to do with what we wish to accomplish?" Anton asked.

"Weren't you the one who said you wanted me to get closer to her in hopes of getting information on the rangers?" Trent asked.

"You're right, but that was before you let her find out who you were. Besides she wouldn't have given us any information anyway. Even when she was angry at them she was loyal to them."

"Then why did you make me go after her?"

"On the off chance that she might slip up and give us something, like perhaps their base of operations."

"Whatever. And I didn't _let _her find out anything." Trent said, angry that Anton was somehow implying he was incompetent.

"How else would you explain her finding out, Trent?" Anton asked.

"It's not my fault she saw the gem!" Trent yelled, his anger reaching fever pitch. Anton glared at him. In a lightening quick movement, he grabbed Trent around the neck and held him in a tight grip. Not tight enough to restrict airflow, but enough to cause discomfort.

"Listen you insolent bastard, do not dare to defy me." He growled, his cool demeanor gone. "I could snap your neck like a twig." Trent smirked.

"You wouldn't kill your son." He said. Anton chuckled and released Trent, pushing him back a bit, his previous collected attitude returning.

"Correction, you're just some boy that I've graciously taken under my wing because your parents decided to trust me with your welfare. I couldn't care about you in the least." Trent's face twitched. Although corrupted by the gem's evil, Trent was still a normal teenage boy at heart and hearing Anton, a man he had called father, say these things did hurt him.

"And what about all that crap you've said about me being the heir to your empire once you succeed in turning the world into your own Jurassic Park?" Trent asked, refusing to believe that Anton didn't care. Anton eyes held Trent's answer. "So, now that your daughter is in reach, I'm nothing?" Trent asked.

"Hmm, perhaps you're not so stupid after all." Anton said.

"You're right, I'm not stupid. I also know that your daughter's mother has no interest in letting you near the girl. So it looks like you've got to relay on your back up bastard, since your first choice bastard isn't as in your reach as you'd like to think." Trent sneered.

"And what makes you think you'll be able to complete the task of being my heir?" Anton asked, keeping his monotone façade even though he wanted to punch Trent for referring to Trini as a bastard.

"And what the hell is that supposed to mean?" Trent asked, not liking what he was getting to. Anton got closer to Trent.

"That gem," he said in a tone very close to a whisper. "The very thing binding you to me and my plans is slowly destroying your mind." He gave a cold smile. Trent stared at him.

"You're lying." Trent said.

"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not." Anton said. He turned around as if to leave, and then paused, casting one last look at Trent. "Although, don't you think that would explain how you've become more and more violent as of late?" Anton stated, letting it make its way into Trent's mind. Trent's eyes slowly began to show some fear. Anton laughed and left his room. Trent sat down on his bed and stared at his gem. _Could he be telling the truth? _He asked himself. _Well, I'm not going to stick around to find out. _He began pulling at the bracelet, trying to get it off and rid himself of the gem. He wanted to hold onto the power the gem gave him, but he wasn't dumb enough to wait until the aftereffects of the gem turned him into some sort of vegetable. He grunted against the non cooperating piece of metal. _Why won't this damn thing come off?!_

-----

Naomi sat on the edge of the bathtub in Tommy's bathroom with Kimberly with her pants on and her shirt lying on the floor, leaving her in just jeans and her white cotton bra. Kimberly had already checked the back of her legs and saw it was just some scratches, nothing to worry about. She was now checking Naomi's stomach, which had yet another bruise on Naomi's body. It was a large blotch of blue/purple discoloration across her abdomen. Kimberly placed a hand on the small of her back, holding her in place as she placed the other against Naomi's ribs. Most of them seemed fine, except when she reached the bottom few. Naomi jumped slightly and put her hand against Kimberly's hand to push it away out of reflex.

"That hurt?" Kimberly asked.

"Yeah, a little." Naomi said.

"Define a little." Kimberly said.

"Not enough to make me wish I was dead, but enough that if Ethan pokes my stomach again I'll make him wish _he _was dead." Naomi said. Kimberly chuckled.

"Well, seeing as the pain isn't too bad and you've been able to move around and have had no trouble breathing, I say you've got some bruised ribs, thankfully not broken."

"So……?" Naomi asked, meaning what would be needed to be done in order to get better.

"I suggest not doing a lot of moving around for a couple of days." Kimberly said, standing up. She handed Naomi her shirt.

"Thanks, Dr. Hart." She said as she pulled her shirt back on, careful not to aggravate her ribs. She slowly got up with Kimberly's help and the two of them made their way back to the living room. Ethan and Tommy looked up from their positions on the couch and easy chair respectively. Kimberly helped Naomi onto the couch next to Ethan and then sat down on the armrest of the chair Tommy was in. He wrapped his arm around her waist.

"Everything okay?" Tommy asked.

"Uh huh, she's just got a couple of bruised ribs; she'll be fine in a few days." Kimberly said. Ethan put an arm around Naomi's shoulder. Naomi shrugged it off. Ethan stared at her. Tommy and Kimberly picked up on it and decided to leave the two kids alone.

"I'm going to go see how Trini's doing on her homework." Kimberly said, getting up. Tommy got up as well.

"Same here." He said. The two adults disappeared up the stairs. Naomi sighed and turned around, putting her feet up on the couch and resting her head on the other side so that Ethan was facing the leg end of her.

"Are you mad at me?" Ethan asked. Naomi didn't respond. Ethan got up and went around to the side where her head was and kneeled beside her. "Naomi?" He asked.

"I just don't feel like being touched right now." Naomi sighed. "I'm in pain. And besides I don't want to deal with you lecturing me about what happened."

"I wasn't.." Ethan began.

"I can see it in your eyes." Naomi said, cutting him off. Ethan rolled his eyes and sat down, his back leaning against the couch and not facing Naomi.

"Well can you blame me?" Ethan asked. "You could've gotten yourself killed. You should've just run when he got you out of the car."

"And let Trent think that I'm just going to play into his psycho episodes like that? I don't think so." Naomi said. Ethan rolled his eyes.

"Oh yes, pride is so much more important then your safety." He said sarcastically. Naomi closed her eyes and clenched her fists, trying to contain the anger that she was getting from his sarcasm.

"Do you want me to just be your little damsel in distress or something?" Naomi asked, forcing herself to keep her voice steady. Ethan sighed, knowing he had offended her and that was the last thing he had wanted to do. He turned around and faced her. He slowly got up and lifted her shoulders as he sat down on the couch, placing her head on his lap. Naomi wasn't having any of that. She sat up, her back to him.

"No, I just.." Ethan began, unsure how to say what was on his mind. He looked down. "Do you remember when I left the necklace on your windowsill?" He asked. "Remember what I said in the card, about how I'd feel if anything happened to you?" Naomi turned her head to the side, looking at him through the corner of her eye. "I just…..When Trent knocked you down and kicked you in the stomach, I got worried. I thought he was going to.." His voice trailed off. Naomi slowly turned herself around and looked at him.

"You thought he was going to what?" Naomi asked. "Ethan?"

"I wanted to get to you but Elsa just kept getting in my way." Ethan continued. "I……I would never be able to forgive myself if Trent had….."

"Killed me?" Naomi asked. Ethan slowly nodded and raised his eyes to meet hers.

"It's not like he's not capable of doing crazy shit. Look at what he did to you and Kira the other day outside of school? Or better yet, what he did to Conner and Kira, or what he did to you at.."

"I get it." Naomi said. "Trent's got some screws loose."

"They're so loose they're falling out." Ethan said. Naomi chuckled slightly at his joke. "Are you still mad at me?" He asked, smiling at the sound of her laugh.

"I wasn't mad, I-" She paused and gave a smile. She scooted closer to him. "No, I'm not still mad at you." She said. "I'm sorry I made you worry. I just wanted to stand up to that creep after all he's put us all through in just the last three days." Naomi paused. "I didn't want him to think I was some scared little girl he could beat the crap out of." Ethan looked at her carefully. It felt like Naomi was changing right before everyone's eyes. When he first met her she was this awkward yet quirky girl who seemed to have a smile on her face for the majority of the time. When she had found out the truth about him and the others she had become angry and perhaps a little vindictive towards him but after he talked to her he felt like the old Naomi was coming back. And now, he wasn't sure what she was now. It was almost like a mixture of the two sides and with some other things thrown into the mix. Before she was a girl fresh out of boarding school dealing with the changes, now she seemed to have lost the innocent naïveté she possessed. Ethan wasn't sure if this was a good thing or a bad thing. He didn't want her involvement with everything to change her drastically but he also knew it was a change that was bound to happen at some point in time. "Ethan?" Naomi's voice invaded his thoughts.

"Huh?" Ethan asked, looking at her.

"You okay?" She asked. "You kind of spaced out on me." She said.

"I'm fine, just thinking."

"Oh, well, I was going to ask you something but if you're too busy _thinking_…" She kidded. Ethan laughed.

"What?"

"Well, I was wondering, maybe, after my ribs feel better…Maybe you could teach me how to fight….I mean, just so next time I don't need to relay on a well placed kick and a heavy object."

"Naomi." Ethan groaned. "There isn't going to **be** a 'next time'."

"I'm not saying I'm going to go looking for a fight with him, I just mean if for some reason I'm on my own and have to protect myself."

"You won't be on your own." Ethan pointed out. Naomi rolled her eyes.

"Ok, what if, hypothetically you're knocked unconscious or otherwise unable to come to my rescue, what then?"

"You run."

"And leave psycho boy to have free range in hurting an unconscious you? I don't think so."

"Naomi, I'm the super hero, I can-"

"I'm sure even Superman let Lois have his back a few times."

"He didn't need to, he had the Justice League." Ethan pointed out. He paused and thought for a second. _She's comparing us to Superman and Lois Lane…….is she implying something? _

"Ok……..well………." Naomi said, trying to come up with an excuse. She gave up. "Come on, Ethan, please!" Ethan sighed.

"Fine." He groaned. "But I'm only showing you enough to fend Trent or his buddies off if you absolutely have to." Naomi smiled.

"Thank you." She said. Now satisfied that she had gotten her way, she turned on her side and laid down, resting her head on his lap. Ethan chuckled ruefully at how much of a pushover he was and gently twirled a loose strand of Naomi's hair in his finger and tucked it behind her ear. Naomi discreetly bit her lip at the sensation the brush of his fingers against her ear caused. Part of her didn't understand it. It was just a simple gesture. But another part of her sensed the feelings Ethan had behind that simple gesture and it was enough to make her purr like a content kitty. After tucking her hair back, he rested the now free hand on her shoulder and absentmindedly ran it up and down her arm. Naomi closed her eyes and gave a soft sigh.

"Comfy?" Ethan asked gently.

"Mmhmm." Naomi said. _I will be as long as you keep doing whatever it is you're doing. _She thought.

------

Later on that night, Eric sat in Conner's hospital room with Kira, both silently watching him.

"Do you want some coffee or something?" Eric found himself asking Kira. She looked at him.

"Sure, I guess." She said. Eric nodded and stood up, leaving the room. As soon as he was out of the room, he leaned against the wall and put his head in his hands. He cried softly into his receiving palms. He wasn't sure how long he was standing there before he felt strong arms wrap around his shoulders and pull him close so his hands and face were gently resting against a broad chest. Eric looked up and was shocked to see Kyle holding him.

"K-Kyle? What.." Eric tried to ask through the lump in his throat.

"Shhh." Kyle said, putting one of his hands on the back of Eric's head. He gently pushed his head back onto his chest and stroked his hair in a comforting manner, telling him, without words, that he could let it all out. Eric clung onto Kyle and cried. After a while his tears subsided and he looked up at Kyle, wiping his eyes.

"Thanks." Eric said. "I just…….With my mom and Conner's girlfriend…I just…I've been feeling like I have to be the solid rock guy, y'know?" Kyle nodded. "Anyway, what are you doing here?"

"Well, what do you expect? I mean you leave a voice mail message saying coming up this weekend's not good because your brother's in a coma and you think I'd actually just go on with my day?" Kyle asked. "I had to come see how you were holding up."

"But what about school? And work?" Eric asked. Kyle shook his head.

"Screw school and work. You're much more important." He said. Eric couldn't help smile softly at that. He leaned in and the two shared a soft sweet kiss. After it ended Eric looked at Kyle.

"So, how'd you know which room was Conner's?" Eric asked.

"I saw your mom. I recognized her from the picture you had when you were in Blue Bay. I told her who I was and asked where you were."

"Something tells me there's more to this story." Eric said. Kyle laughed.

"Your mom gave me a huge hug and said she was really happy to finally meet me-albeit she said she wished it was under better circumstances-and she said she was glad that I came to see you." Eric groaned, feeling a little embarrassed. Kyle laughed again and kissed Eric's forehead softly. "So, can I see your brother?" Kyle asked. Eric sighed and slowly nodded. He led Kyle back into the room. Kira looked up as the two of them entered, Eric sans coffee, not that she was really expecting he really went to get coffee.

"Hey." She said.

"Hey, uh, Kira, this is Kyle, Kyle this is Kira, Conner's girlfriend." Eric said. Kira gave Kyle a weak friendly smile and Kyle gave her a slight nod.

"It's nice to meet you, Kyle." Kira said, knowing that he was Eric's boyfriend.

"Same here." Kyle replied. He looked at Conner. It was a little eerie to him how much the two brothers looked alike. They were completely identical, except for the hair. Kyle's stomach churned at the thought of Eric lying in a hospital like Conner was. He reached over and took Eric's hand in his, squeezing it gently as a reassurance that Eric was actually there standing beside him. Eric looked at him and leaned against him, resting his head against his shoulder. Kira looked over at them and felt a pang of jealousy. She wished she could be holding her McKnight's hand and feel him holding her hand right back at that very moment. She sighed and turned back to Conner, gently sweeping some of his hair off his forehead. _Please wake up, baby. _She mentally pleaded.

---

Trent grunted as he continued to pull off the bracelet. He alternated between pulling at the bracelet and trying to take the gem itself out of the setting in the bracelet, but both attempts resulted in being painfully futile. He closed his eyes and fell back onto his bed, Anton's words echoing in his head. _"That gem, the very thing binding you to me and my plans is slowly destroying your mind."_


	29. Ice Cream

After Tommy, Kimberly, Trini, Naomi and Ethan all ate dinner, which consisted of spaghetti and red pasta sauce, Tommy took Kimberly and Trini out for ice cream. They invited the two teenagers but Naomi wasn't feeling like going out and Ethan decided to stay with her. Tommy was a little hesitant at first to leave the two teenagers alone in his house, but he figured if they behaved themselves when they were sleeping together the night before, he could trust them to be alone. The two adults and little girl left. Naomi sighed and lay on her side on the couch, her head lying on Ethan's lap yet again. Ethan smiled softly. He loved feeling her so close like this. He loved everything about her. The only problem was, of course, there was no way she felt the same. Of course, the night before she said she needed time when he tried to kiss her, but he didn't want to get his hopes up. _She probably only said that to be nice. _He thought.

"Hey, Ethan?" Naomi asked.

"Yeah?"

"Do you still have that necklace?" She asked. Ethan smirked.

"You mean the one with the broken chain because you like tore it off your own neck?" He asked. Naomi playfully smacked him in the chest.

"Hey, I was pissed at you when I did that, I'd thank you to drop it." Naomi said with a laugh. Ethan laughed as well.

"Ok, ok, sorry. Yeah, I still have it." He said. Naomi turned onto her back so she was now looking up at him.

"Do you think I could…..Maybe have it…..Again?" She asked. Ethan stared down at her.

"Uh…….I guess……I mean..I have to replace the chain on it."

"I could do it, I mean, I did break it." Naomi said.

"Do you mind if I ask..Why do you want it?" Ethan asked. Naomi looked away for second then brought her eyes back to him.

"It's a nice necklace." She said.

"They sell it at the mall." Ethan said, knowing there was something else going on here.

"Yeah, but I just figured since you have it, and you _did _buy it for me, I could…" Her voice trailed off. "Unless you're planning on giving it to someone else."

"No of course not." Ethan said quickly. "I just…..I mean…" Ethan began, unsure how to put his thoughts into words.

"What?" Naomi asked.

"Naomi, why do you really want it?" Ethan finally asked bluntly.

"It was a gift from you, and I was wrong to just throw it back at you like that." Naomi said. Ethan looked at her.

"Is there some hidden subtext there or something?" He asked. Naomi rolled her eyes and laughed.

"No, I'm just saying I made a mistake in rejecting a friend's gift like that." Naomi said. Ethan's heart sank. _I knew it; there is no chance for me and her._

"Oh." Ethan said. "Yeah, sure, you can have it back." Ethan said. Naomi looked at him.

"Is something wrong?" She asked.

"No, no, I'm fine." Ethan said. He got up, forcing Naomi to sit up. She scooted backwards so her back was resting against the armrest. Ethan began pacing a bit.

"You sure don't seem fine." Naomi commented.

"It's nothing." Ethan said.

"Are you sure?" Naomi asked. Ethan stopped and looked at her.

"I said it's nothing!" Ethan yelled. Naomi wasn't expecting this outburst and slightly jumped. Ethan blinked, realizing he just yelled at her. "I need some air." He muttered as he quickly left the house, leaving Naomi sitting there stunned. Naomi slowly got up and went after him.

"Ethan, what's wrong?" She asked. She was now standing on the porch with Ethan off close to the woods. He had his back turned to her. "Ethan, please talk to me." She pleaded. Ethan sighed and turned to her.

"It's nothing. I just realized you don't feel the same way about me as I do about you." Ethan said bitterly. Naomi stared at him.

"I told you that I needed time." Naomi said. Ethan scoffed slightly.

"When you love someone you don't need 'time' to find out if you love them." He said. Naomi's breath caught in her throat.

"Yo..You love me?" Naomi asked. Ethan paused and looked at her. He hadn't meant to let that slip out, but now that it was out, he couldn't take it back so there was no sense pretending or anything. Naomi walked off the porch and approached him.

"Yeah, yeah I do." Ethan said. Naomi was now standing right before him and gently cupped his face. Ethan reached back and pulled her hands off him. "Don't." He said. "Don't patronize me."

"I'm not." Naomi said gently. "I told you, I don't know what I feel, okay?"

"That's just a nice way of saying 'no chance in hell'." Ethan replied. Naomi shook her head.

"No, that's not true." She said.

"If you really did feel something for me, you'd feel it. You wouldn't need to think about it." Ethan spat out. Naomi glared at him.

"Yeah, well, when you feel something for someone, a normal person would tell them, not woo them with their alter ego and totally mess up the person's head!" She spat right back at him. Ethan stared at her, unable to believe she'd bring that up. Naomi seemed to regret saying it too because she took a step back and looked at him. "I'm sorry, I..I didn't mean-"

"Yes you did." Ethan said. "You wouldn't have said it unless you were thinking it." He turned around and began to walk away.

"Where are you going?" Naomi called after him.

"For a walk, leave me alone." He yelled back at her without even giving her a glance. Naomi watched him leave as tears slowly filled her eyes.

---

Trent closed his eyes. It was utterly hopeless. He was going to succumb to the gem's effects. He couldn't get it off, he knew Anton had no intention of getting it off for him, and his pride and the fact that they were his enemies kept him from going to the rangers for help. He took a deep breath and slowly released it. _If you can't beat it………Let it destroy you…_He thought as he slowly gave up and let the gem to with him what it would.

---

Kira stood before one of the sinks in the ladies rooms. Mrs. McKnight took Eric and Kyle to the McKnight house. She had offered to drive Kira home but Kira lied and said she called her parents and they were coming to get her. In reality, she just didn't want to leave Conner's side-other then at that current moment where she had gone to the bathroom. She now looked at herself in the mirror above the sink. There were dark circles under her eyes from lack of sleep because she was so worried about Conner; her skin looked pale from not eating as much as she should've been eating; her hair probably was so knotted up that a brush would just break off in her hair if she tried to brush it. She sighed and left the bathroom, returning to her post beside Conner. The minute she walked into the hospital room, she paused and gasped, something had changed in her brief absence.

"Oh…God….." She whispered, staring at Conner.

---

"I don't know if it's such a good idea to give her that much sugar." Kimberly said. Trini had gone off to get them a table at the ice cream parlor and the two adults waited for the ice creams to be ready. Tommy smiled and looked at Kimberly.

"Sorry, I just couldn't help it." He said. Kimberly couldn't help smile. It seemed like Tommy was beginning to become wrapped around Trini's little finger. Kimberly put an arm around his waist and kissed his cheek.

"I know." She said. Soon the attendant handed them their ice cream. Kimberly took the two cups that held hers and Tommy's while Tommy took the sundae and the two went over to Trini and the three of them began to enjoy their dessert. Trini was sitting on one side of the square table by herself and her mother and Tommy sat on the other side. She was fully enjoying her fairly large sundae with hot fudge, whip cream and a cherry on top whereas the adults were enjoying two scoops of ice cream in cups. Kimberly's was strawberry and Tommy's was chocolate. If anyone looked at them, they would assume the three of them were a happy family with Kimberly and Tommy as husband and wife and Trini their daughter, as supposed to the reality where Trini was not Tommy's daughter and he and Kimberly were not married. About halfway into her sundae, Trini pushed it aside. By this time both Kimberly and Tommy had finished their ice creams and sat watching Trini as she tried to eat the mammoth dessert.

"Full?" Kimberly asked her daughter with a smile. Trini wrapped her small arms around her stomach and nodded. Tommy gave a small chuckle.

"How about I go get a cover for it and we can put it in the freezer back home?" Tommy asked as he began to get up. He took his and Kimberly's cups and tossed them in a nearby trashcan. He then went to the counter.

"Thank you, daddy." Trini said, causing Tommy to stop abruptly. He turned and looked at Kimberly who had the same shocked expression he did. He cleared his throat and looked at Trini and gave her a smile.

"No problem, angel." He said. He turned around and went to the counter. Kimberly looked at her daughter. Trini had noticed the expressions on their faces and now looked like she did something wrong.

"I'm sorry, mommy. I didn't mean to say it, it just slipped out." Kimberly reached out and took one of Trini's hands in hers.

"It's okay, baby." Kimberly said. Tommy soon returned with a plastic cover and placed it on the Styrofoam plate that held Trini's sundae. He picked it up and the three of them made their way out of the parlor. Right when they were about to get into his jeep, Tommy's phone rang.

"Hang on a sec." He said. Kimberly took the plate as he reached into his pocket for the phone. He answered it.

"Hello?" He said and nearly jumped at a frantic voice on the other line. "Whoa…whoa…..Kira? What is it?........" He paused, hearing her speak. "Oh my god…….Yes, yes, we'll be right there." Tommy said, ending the call. Kimberly looked at him.

"What's up?" Kimberly asked.

"It's Conner…" Tommy began.

---

About half an hour passed since Ethan went off to walk around the woods. He felt like he had cooled down enough and made his way back to Tommy's house. He was surprised to see Naomi sitting on the porch steps. She had her knees up and her arm was resting on it. Her head was buried in her arm. He went over.

"Naomi?" He asked. "What are-"

"I locked myself out when I came out after you." She said without even looking up. Her voice sounded as if she had been crying. Ethan looked down.

"I'm sorry." He said. "I shouldn't have yelled at you like that." Naomi sniffled and lifted her face out of her arm. She brought her other arm up and rested both on her knees. She covered her face with her hands then moved them back, wiping her finger tips. She sighed and leaned against the banister on the porch steps.

"Don't be sorry." She replied. "I mean, you had every right to be upset." She got up and stepped off the porch, standing at the side, staring at the sky.

"No, I acted like a fricken two year old." Ethan said. He got up and stood beside her. "I mean, if you don't have feelings for me, then that's that, I can't get mad at you because-"

"Ethan." Naomi said, cutting him off, she looked up at him, her eyes shining. "That's not the case." She said. Ethan looked at her.

"What do you mean?" He asked. Naomi looked away. "You **do** have feelings for me?" He asked. Naomi nodded slowly.

"I just……..I wasn't sure what type of feelings they were and then when I did know that it was possibly romantic feelings, I wasn't sure how deep they were." Ethan stared at her, stunned.

"Are yo…You saying you love me too?" He asked.

"I don't know." She said. She looked up at him. "But it feels like something more then…I mean….I-" Ethan didn't let her finish as he cupped her face in his hands and swooped down and gently pressed his lips against hers. Her final few words were muffled against his lips before she gave a small sigh and placed her hands on his shoulders. After a while, Ethan pulled back, leaving Naomi reeling a bit. She blinked and looked up into his eyes.

"Sorry, I-" He began to apologize.

"Shh." Naomi said. She put one of her hands on the back of his neck and pulled him back to her. The two met for another kiss, much more intense then the first one. Ethan kept one hand resting against her cheek as the other traveled down to her hip. Naomi tilted her head to the side as the kiss grew deeper, their tongues gently meeting and dancing together. Naomi moaned gently as she felt all that Ethan felt for her through his kiss. Her knees felt weak and seemed to buckle beneath her. She leaned back against the porch banister to keep herself steady. Ethan's hand that was still on her cheek descended down to where her neck and shoulder met as his lips left hers. Naomi gave a small whimper which was soon replaced by a sigh as she felt his lips on her neck.

"Naomi." He whispered between kisses against her soft flesh. Naomi bit her lip as her eyes drifted shut from all the passion going on. She gently lowered her head, making his lips leave her neck. She wanted to feel his lips on hers again. They drifted back into the kiss and stayed like that for a while. But soon, regrettably, they both needed to breath. Ethan pulled back, resting his forehead against hers, both of them panting. _Okay, that was **so **much better then that dream I had. _Naomi thought. "That was…Intense." Ethan said, still catching his breath. Naomi gave a small laugh and nodded.

"It was." She said. They were suddenly interrupted by Ethan's phone ringing. Ethan groaned and stepped back, fishing his phone from his pocket. "Hello? Kira? Hey, what……What's going on? Hello? Kira?" He rolled his eyes and hung up.

"What is it?" Naomi asked.

"I don't know." He looked a little worried. "It was Kira, she just said to get down to the hospital…But she didn't say why." He looked down. Naomi picked up on what he was thinking.

"You don't think Conner's dea-" She stopped herself. "No, no, I'm sure he's all right."

"We should probably go." Ethan said. Naomi nodded. They got into Kimberly's car. Ethan, grateful he forgot to take the keys out of the ignition before, turned the engine on and the two were off. They soon got to the hospital, and saw Tommy's jeep. He, Kimberly and Trini were just getting out of it when Ethan pulled up into the parking space beside them. Ethan and Naomi jumped out.

"Kira called you too?" Tommy asked upon seeing them. Ethan nodded.

"I'll stay out here with Trini, you guys go on in." Kimberly said. If the worst case scenario had actually happened, she didn't want Trini in there to witness it. Tommy nodded and he, Naomi and Ethan ran into the hospital. They stopped right at the door to Conner's room. Tommy was the first to see inside and halted abruptly, causing Naomi and Ethan to bump into him. They looked in as well and were shocked in silence.


	30. Lapse in Judgement

The sight that greeted Naomi, Ethan and Tommy stunned them beyond belief. There was Kira, lying beside Conner, who, judging by his actions was wide awake, with his bed tilted upright. The two were in the middle of a make out session. Ethan and Tommy looked like they were about to murder Kira for not telling them Conner was awake over the phone, making them worry. Naomi saw this and decided she should step in. She cleared her throat; the two didn't seem to hear her. She cleared her throat again, a little louder, still nothing. Naomi rolled her eyes and stuck her thumb and index finger between her lips and let out a shrill whistle, causing everyone, even the otherwise occupied couple, to look up. Kira blushed a little, embarrassed by the fact that they were caught. Conner chuckled, still holding onto her waist. The other three walked into the room.

"So, explain to us why it is you couldn't tell us over the phone that Conner was awake." Tommy said.

"Yeah, man, you had us totally worried." Ethan said.

"Sorry, I guess I was just so happy and everything that I just didn't mention it…" Kira said, feeling bad. She got up and slid off the bed. Tommy went up to Conner first and put a hand on his shoulder. He smiled.

"It's great to see that you're okay, Conner." Tommy said. Conner returned the smile.

"Thanks, Dr. O." Conner said. Tommy stepped aside as Ethan came over. The two teenage guys clasped hands and Ethan leaned in as they embraced each other in a manly hug. He stepped back. Everyone looked at Naomi, who was just standing there. One second later, she ran over to Conner's side and grabbed him into a huge hug.

"I'm so glad you're okay!" She said. Conner, surprised by her actions, slowly returned the hug.

"Uh, thanks, Naomi." He said. He looked at the others who unanimously gave him a look that said 'we'll explain later.' After a while, Naomi released him and stood by Ethan.

"Did you call Mrs. McKnight?" Ethan asked Kira.

"No, I did." Conner said. "They should be here any minute. You should've heard my mom yelling for joy when she heard my voice." Conner said with a smile.

"Well, I'm going to go tell Kimberly the good news." Tommy said, leaving the room. Naomi and Ethan sat on some chairs beside Conner.

"So, I'm guessing I missed a lot these last couple of days, huh?" Conner asked.

"No, not really, unless you consider finding out Trent's the one who messed up your car…" Kira began.

"And also finding out Trent's the white ranger…" Naomi continued.

"And him kidnapping Naomi.." Ethan said.

"So he could get Ethan to exchange the gems for me.." Naomi said.

"Forcing Naomi and me to crash on Dr. O's pull out couch…"

"And running into him earlier today where he gave me a nice set of bruised ribs." Naomi said. Conner's eyes had widened at the very beginning and stayed wide, whereas Kira, who didn't know about the kidnapping and everything else, got wide when that was brought up.

"Trent kidnapped you?" Kira asked Naomi, shocked.

"Trent messed up my car?" Conner asked. Everyone looked at him. "What? Don't look at me like that, of course I'm worried about Naomi too, I just……He's the one who caused the accident?" Naomi waved a dismissive hand to say that she didn't take offense.

"Anyway, it wasn't necessarily a kidnapping…." Naomi said. Ethan rolled his eyes.

"He just knocked you out, took you to some abandoned warehouse and tied you up. Oh sure, that's not kidnapping. Let's not even talk about what happened later."

"You're right, let's not." Naomi said.

"What happened?" Kira asked. Naomi sighed.

"When Ethan and Dr. Oliver came to rescue me, Trent…sort of had a knife to my throat and he dangled me off a roof." Naomi said. Conner and Kira stared at her. "What? I mean, hey, look, I'm right here, obviously I came out of the situation fine." She said. "Anyway, I'm sure you guys have more pressing matters to discuss." Naomi said. "Such as you're, uh, extracurricular activities." She said. Before anyone could say anything, Mrs. McKnight burst through the room.

"Oh, sweetie!" She exclaimed, running to Conner's side and pulling him into a hug. Ethan and Naomi pushed their chairs back to give her some room. Kyle and Eric came into the room behind her. Eric smiled and gave out a sigh of relief at the sight of Conner. Kyle smiled and put an arm around Eric's shoulders. After Mrs. McKnight practically smothered her son in kisses, she stepped back. Eric came over and the two brothers hugged. Kyle stood by, smiling at Eric. After Eric and Conner stopped hugging, Eric went and brought Kyle over to Conner.

"Conner, this is Kyle, Kyle, this is my brother, Conner." Eric said. Conner looked at Kyle. The two shook hands.

"So, you're the one who's swept my brother off his feet, huh?" Conner asked. Ethan looked at Naomi and leaned over.

"Wait……..Eric's gay?" He whispered. Naomi stifled a laugh.

"Duh, I knew that the day we met him." She said. Ethan looked at her.

"You're observant." He said. Naomi gave a wicked smile.

"Mmhmm, about a lot of things." She said, giving him a quick look over to make her point clear. Ethan couldn't help grin like an idiot. Conner and Kyle continued talking.

"So, as Eric's brother, I must inform you that if you break his heart, I will be forced to break your neck." Conner said. Everyone smiled. Tommy came back to the room and told the others he was going to head back home with Kimberly before leaving again. For the following hour, everyone chit chatted, with Mrs. McKnight and Kira taking turns gushing over Conner. They'd constantly ask if he was comfortable, offered to fluff his pillows or get him something cool to drink. Conner smiled and decided that no matter what he did, the two most important women in his life weren't going to let up, so he just let them fret over him. Ethan and Naomi left after a while, getting into Kimberly's car and driving to Tommy's house. Ethan felt like a huge weight had been lifted from his chest. Conner was awake. He was all right. And he and Naomi had shared their first….And second, and well, technically third kiss. At the thought of that, he couldn't help casting a glace towards Naomi, who was looking out her window. Ethan turned back to the road ahead of them and continued driving.

-

Meanwhile, Kimberly and Tommy were in bed. They weren't sure what time Ethan and Naomi would be back, but Ethan had a key. Tommy had pulled the bed out of the couch and he and Kimberly and left night clothes for the teens to use, just in case they were asleep when the kids finally did come home. Tommy was sitting up correcting some tests while Kimberly was also sitting up, doing a crossword puzzle. Kimberly set down her puzzle and looked at Tommy. She smiled and leaned over, wrapping her arms around his waist. Tommy acknowledged her presence with a smile but kept working. Kimberly frowned. She kissed up and down his neck, trying to get a reaction out of him, which didn't seem to be happening.

"Kim," Tommy said. "I've really got to get these tests corrected." Kimberly gave a dismissive 'mmhmm' as she continued kissing his neck. Tommy groaned. He set his papers on his nightstand and grabbed Kimberly around her waist and pulled her onto his lap, getting a small squeal of surprise and laughter from her. She now lay in his cross-legged lap looking up at him as he looked down at her. Kimberly reached up and stroked his face gently, looking at him seriously.

"You're amazing, you know that?" She said softly. Tommy smiled and pulled her up. He kissed her softly. Kimberly nestled her head in the crook of his neck as they leaned back in the bed, laying out and holding each other. "Thanks, for, you know, not freaking out after what happened at the ice cream parlor." She said. Tommy looked at her.

"Why would I have freaked?" He asked. Kimberly shrugged.

"Having their girlfriend's daughter call them daddy might make a lot of guys freak." She said. Tommy placed his index finer under her chin and gently raised her face up so she was looking at him.

"Hey," he said. "I'm not a lot of guys." Kimberly smiled.

"I know." She said.

"I'll admit, it kind of surprised me, but not because I got scared…I guess I just didn't think it had gotten to a point where I had started doing the dad-like qualities. I mean, did she ever call Jason daddy?" Tommy asked. Kimberly thought about it and shook her head.

"No, never." Kimberly said.

"And he was in her life from when she was born to age five, right?"

"Yeah. I mean, she'd hug him and everything and the two of them acted as if they could've been father and daughter, but she always called him Uncle Jason." Kimberly looked at Tommy. "Can I tell you a secret?" She asked. Tommy nodded. "She did say she wished you were her father." Kimberly admitted. Tommy looked at her.

"When?"

"When I took her to see Jason. She was sitting on my lap and asked if you were her new daddy. She said that you and I kiss like Dana and Carter do and, I quote 'he's gonna be a daddy' so she thought that you were going to be hers." Kimberly looked at Tommy, searching his face for any sign of anxiety, but there was none.

"Ah, so that's the difference between me and Jase." Tommy said, smiling softly.

"Well, there is the fact that you spoil her more then Jason ever did." Kimberly added. Tommy stared at her.

"Who me?" Tommy asked. Kimberly slid out of his embrace and sat up.

"Who's the one who caved and let her have the huge sundae tonight?" Kimberly asked with a smirk. "Jason never did that. I mean, he bought her presents, took her to the park and everything, but he always stepped back and do the parenting."

"….I'm sorry." Tommy said. "I'll butt out, I just-" Kimberly shook her head.

"I don't want you to." She said. She sighed. "Aside from having Jason, Zack and Trini…You know, _the actual _Trini….Help out, I took care of her on my own, and now having you falling into the dad role……I don't know, it's nice. I like it. And I know Trini likes it." Tommy took in her words.

"Well, what if I didn't just fall into the dad 'role'?" He asked. Kimberly looked at him.

"What do you mean?" Kimberly asked. Tommy sat up and placed his hands on her shoulders.

"What if we got married?" He asked. Kimberly's eyes got huge and her jaw went slack as it hung slightly.

"M…Married?" She stammered. Tommy nodded.

"Yeah." He said, smiling. Kimberly stammered and sputtered as she tried to comprehend what he was saying. She got up from the bed. Tommy looked at her.

"Wh-Why would you say that?" She asked as she began to pace a bit.

"What do you mean? Why wouldn't I say that?" Tommy asked. Kimberly looked at him.

"We can't get _married._" She said. Tommy stared at her, puzzled.

"What? Why not?" He asked. This wasn't going how he had hoped, and he was getting a little agitated by Kimberly's anxiety.

"Tommy, we've only been together for a little while."

"What the hell are you talking about? What do you call what we were back in-"

"That was different." Kimberly said, cutting him off. "We were different. I mean, we were apart for so long, and I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm ecstatic that we found our way back to each other and are reconnecting, but it's too soon."

"Well, I don't agree." Tommy stated. He got up and stood in front of her. "I love you, I've always have. Even when you wrote me that note and broke my heart I still loved you and dreamed about having a life, a future with you." Kimberly narrowed her eyes.

"Right and I'm sure you said that to Kat when you guys got together after we broke up." She said. Tommy was shocked she'd throw that in his face.

"For your information, no, I didn't, because I never felt that way, and frankly I don't think she felt that way either." He said. Kimberly scoffed.

"Oh please, I'm sure Miss Kitty-Kat was beyond happy to see I was out of the picture."

"Oh my god, what is this? You're going to blame me and Kat for getting together? Guess what, you're the one who broke up with me. Kat stepped in and tried to comfort me when I missed you and felt so depressed that I could barely stand to go on another day."

"So now it's my fault? Newsflash, I was pregnant, scared and alone!"

"And whose fault is that? You're the one who slept with some guy you barely knew, you're the one who decided to cut yourself off from everyone who cared about you, you're the one who thought I'd actually be that much of a scumbag to not be there for you when you needed me." Tears began to find their way to Kimberly's eyes.

"Well I didn't know how you'd react. I mean, I screwed up. Your perfect little former pink ranger had a lapse in judgment and cheated on you, and then got pregnant from that lapse of judgment. I mean, I thought if I tried to call you and tell you what happened I'd just get yelled at and hung up on."

"I never thought you were just my perfect pink ranger. I loved you, everything about you, flaws, lapse in judgment and everything."

"Oh, how romantic." Kimberly muttered sarcastically. Tommy rolled his eyes.

"You know what, screw this. Forget I mentioned anything about getting married." He said through clench teeth. He went over and picked up the jeans he had been wearing earlier and pulled them over his boxers. He then grabbed one of his t-shirts that were lying around and pulled that on.

"Where are you going?" Kimberly asked.

"Out." Was his only answer as he stalked out of the room. Kimberly went after him. She was just at the last few steps on the stairs when Tommy nearly ripped the door off its hinges while opening it. He was ready to storm out, but saw a little obstacle: The two teens kissing right in front of his door. Ethan and Naomi broke apart quickly and looked at him.

"Uh, hey, Dr. O, what's up-" Ethan began, blushing at being caught.

"Get inside." Tommy said. Ethan was shocked; he'd never seen his teacher/mentor/fellow ranger this upset before.

"Yes sir." He and Naomi quickly scurried past him. Tommy then left the house, slamming the door behind him.

"I didn't think he'd be _that _pissed at us." Naomi muttered, thinking he was upset because she and Ethan had been kissing. Kimberly was standing on the stairs and staring at the front door. She gave a sob as she slowly sank down to a sitting position on the steps, burying her face in her hands. Ethan and Naomi went to her side.

"What's wrong?" Ethan asked. They heard the door of the other bedroom open and close as Trini slowly shuffled out of the room, tiredly rubbing her eyes. She saw her mother sitting on the stairs and went over to her.

"Mommy?" She asked, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Why are you crying?"

"Trini, go back to bed." Kimberly said softly through her tears. Trini didn't obey. She hugged her instead. Kimberly pulled her arms away. "Go back to bed, now!" She yelled. Trini stared at her. She jumped up and ran to her room, crying. Naomi looked at Ethan. She got up and went after Trini. Kimberly only cried harder, seeing that she just made her daughter cry. Ethan sighed and sat beside her, putting an arm around her shoulders and letting her just cry. Naomi was with Trini who was crying in her bed. Naomi sat beside her and gently rubbed her back.

"I'm sure your mommy didn't mean to yell at you." Naomi said softly. "She was just upset, its okay, its okay." After about a half an hour, the small girl's sobs subsided and she just lay there, occasionally wiping the few tears that were still falling off of her cheeks. By that time, Kimberly had calmed down a little and went to Trini's room. Naomi looked up at her.

"Naomi, can you, uh, give us a minute?" She asked. Naomi nodded softly. She looked back at Trini and gave her a small smile.

"Hey, you going to be okay?" She asked in a friendly voice. Trini gave her a weak smile and sat up. Naomi rubbed her back a little bit before getting up. She looked at Kimberly and gave her an acknowledging nod as she headed to the door. Naomi left. Kimberly sighed and looked at Trini. "Hey." She said her voice becoming soft, gentle.

"Hey." Trini said her voice still a little hoarse from crying.

"Can I sit down?" She asked. Trini nodded and scooted to one side of the bed to make room for her mother. Kimberly went and sat beside her on the bed.

"Am I in trouble?" Trini asked. "For calling Tommy daddy?" Kimberly stared at her. Trini thought Kimberly was mad at her because of that? Kimberly sighed and took her daughter in her arms. Trini rested her head against Kimberly's chest.

"Of course not, honey." She said, softly stroking her hair. "You're not in trouble. I didn't mean to yell at you. I was just…Upset."

"Mommy?"

"Yes?"

"What's a 'lapse in judgment'?" She asked. Kimberly looked down at her. She sighed. Apparently Trini had heard her and Tommy, or at least parts of it.

"It……It's a mistake." She answered honestly.

"Oh." Trini responded. "Am I a lapse in judgment? Is that what you meant when you said that to Tommy?" Kimberly pulled back from the hug, making Trini look at her.

"No, sweetie. You weren't the lapse in judgment." Kimberly sighed. "What I meant was….Ok, well; do you remember what I would tell you about Tommy whenever you asked about it from the pictures?" She asked. Trini nodded.

"You said you loved him a lot."

"That's right. Well, the lapse in judgment that I made was well, making a baby, you, with someone else instead of Tommy."

"My daddy?" Trini asked. Kimberly sighed. She didn't like the idea of Trini calling that man 'daddy'. Anton was no father. Biologically, yes, but in every other way, no.

"Yes." Kimberly said. "But he's not your daddy. He never came to see you and-"

"So, my daddy didn't want me?" Trini asked. Kimberly took a deep breath.

"Your daddy's a very mean man." Kimberly said. Trini looked down.

"Do you think I'm a mistake?" She asked. Kimberly pulled her daughter close again.

"No. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me." She whispered against Trini's hair as she planted a kiss on the top of her head. "And don't you ever forget that." Trini wrapped her arms around Kimberly's mid-section.

"I love you, mommy." Trini said.

"I love you too, baby." Kimberly said. They sat there for a while before Trini fell back to sleep. Kimberly slowly eased her back into bed and covered her up with the blankets. She kissed Trini's forehead.

"Sweet dreams, baby." She said softly before shutting off the lights and leaving the room, shutting the door behind her. She came out and saw Naomi and Ethan sitting at the stairs. They looked up at her. "Trini went back to sleep." She informed them.

"What happened, I mean, why was Dr. O so upset?" Ethan asked.

"We just had a disagreement." Kimberly said, simply leaving it at that. "I'm going to go to bed." She said before going back to Tommy's room. Ethan and Naomi watched her. Ethan waited a few seconds after she shut the door of the room before grabbing Naomi's hand and pulling her down the stairs.

"Whoa, Ethan, what are you doing?" Naomi asked. Ethan brought her to the couch/bed and sat down, making Naomi to do the same.

"Continuing what we started outside." He whispered. Naomi did her best to hide her smile. Ethan took the initiative and leaned in, placing one hand against her jaw and the other on her waist. Naomi threw her head back and bit her lip to hold back a moan when Ethan placed his lips on her pulse point. He gently sucked and nibbled on the tender flesh. He continued this for what felt to Naomi a sweet eternity, but was most likely 15-20 minutes. He then brought his lips up to hers where Naomi, reeling from his ministrations on her neck, kissed him hungrily. She felt the need to be closer to him so, without breaking contact with his lips, she moved so that instead of sitting next to him on the bed, she was now straddling his lap, facing him. She put her arms around his neck and he held her hips. The two unleashed the need and passion they had kept at bay for each other, kissing feverishly. This went on for a while as the two teens became lost in the taste of one another. But, as far gone as they were, they still heard the distant sound of someone turning a key in a door…..Which only meant one thing………Their teacher had return. Naomi and Ethan quickly broke apart, but in their haste to break apart so as not to be caught, Naomi ended up falling backwards onto the floor. Ethan didn't have time to help her up before the front door opened. Tommy walked in and glanced at the sight before him. Ethan, sitting on the edge of the bed and Naomi on her back on the floor with her knees up and propped up on her elbows. He gave them a look.

"Uh, hey, Dr. Oliver….We were just.." Naomi tried to explain. Tommy shook his head.

"I don't want to know." He said. He looked up to the stairs and sighed. He went and slowly walked up the stairs. Naomi and Ethan waited until he was all the way up before speaking.

"We…Uh…Should probably….Get ready for bed.." Naomi suggested, kind of shocked by how intense that kiss had been. She thought their second kiss was extreme, but this one was just…..Passion and hunger were in it and it frightened her a bit. Ethan did feel the same. He felt as if he wanted to just take her then and there, but he knew he wasn't ready for something like that and even if he was, the living room of his teacher's house wasn't exactly the most appropriate of places.

"Yeah, you're right." Ethan said. "You can go get changed first." He offered. Naomi smiled. She slowly climbed to her feet and grabbed the folded up cotton pants and short sleeve shirt that were sitting on the bed. She gave Ethan a quick peck on the lips before heading up to the bathroom.

-

Tommy sighed and walked into his room. He found Kimberly sitting up in bed with her knees pulled up to her chest. She had had her head resting on her knees but lifted her head up as soon as she heard him come in. Her face was tearstained and her eyes were puffy indicating that she most likely had been crying for most of the time he had been gone. Tommy took a deep breath and walked over to his nightstand.

"I'm going to finish up my work in the study." He mumbled. He took the test sheets he was supposed to be grading. Kimberly simply stared at him. Tommy went to the door.

"Wait." Kimberly finally said. Tommy stopped but kept facing the door. "I.." She tried to speak, but found it hard to utter a single word through the lump in her throat. She swallowed hard and tried again. "I'm sorry." She said. Tommy stayed in his position. He heard the sound of Kimberly slowly sliding off the bed and heard her approaching footsteps. "I'm sorry I said those things……I'm sorry I yelled at you…….." She got closer to him and Tommy felt her rest her forehead against his shoulder blade. "I'm so sorry." She whispered, her voice sounding as if she had starting crying all over again. Tommy sighed and put his arm back, placing his hand on the small of her back. Kimberly sighed and buried her face in his back.

"I'm sorry too." He whispered back to her.

"I love you, with everything that's inside me. I just…….When you said we should get married, I got frightened." Tommy slowly took his hand off her back and turned around so he was facing her.

"Why?" He asked. Kimberly wiped at her cheeks.

"So many reasons to begin to count." Kimberly muttered. "I mean, pick one. There's the fact that the father of my child most likely tried to kill Jason just because he was my friend, imagine what he would try to do to you if you were my husband? Then there's the fact that aside from friends, it's just been Trini and me for seven years. We're a family…..And I just don't want to get distracted from her by getting married. Then there's-"

"Kim." Tommy said, cutting her off. "I told you the night you told me about Anton that I wouldn't let him hurt you or Trini ever, even if he tried to hurt you by hurting me. I won't let it happen. And as far as the family goes, I would never dream of distracting you. When I suggested we get married it meant I wanted to start a family with you _and _Trini. I know it was sudden and everything but don't think this was just some rash spur of the moment thing, I meant it when I said we should get married." He gently cupped her face. "I love you and I can't imagine a future without you. And in these past weeks that I've known Trini, I haven't been able to help feeling like I wanted to be a father to her. I don't care if she's not mine biologically, I love her as if she was my own daughter and I love you." Kimberly closed her eyes and placed a hand on one of his. More tears fell from her eyes. Kimberly took in a shuddering breath and slowly let it out.

"Yes." She whispered. Tommy looked at her.

"What?" He asked. She opened her eyes and stared deeply into his as she gave him a soft smile.

"Yes, I will marry you." She said. Tommy felt his heart leap with joy. He gave out a soft laugh with Kimberly following suit.

"You want to marry me." He stated, letting the concept float through his head which was still swimming from her acceptance.

"Yes, I want to marry you." Kimberly said her voice a little louder. She gave a soft yet joyous laugh. Tommy wanted to yell to the high heavens with joy, but he knew that most likely Trini was asleep and he didn't want to wake her, so instead he bent down and scooped her up in his arms bridal style. Kimberly giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Might as well get some practice, huh?" He said with a smile. Kimberly giggled again. Tommy rushed to the bed and gently tossed her onto it before getting in bed himself. The two got together and kissed. Kimberly lay back in bed with Tommy on top of her. Their hands were touching and groping each other in every place imaginable.

"Wait, wait." Kimberly said as she pulled back from him. Tommy looked at her. "I just have one question." She said.

"What?" Tommy asked. Kimberly gave him a wicked grin.

"Is this make-up sex or 'woohoo we just got engaged' sex?" She asked. Tommy laughed.

"Maybe a little bit of both." He said. He quickly got out of bed and shut off the lights and ran back to Kimberly's awaiting arms and the two soon were completely naked.

-

AN: Hey guys, well, Teal and I wanted to make the 30th chapter be the last chapter, but as we kept writing, the last chapter kept getting longer and longer. It reached over thirty pages without being close to the end, so I decided to break up the chapters, so as not to overload you guys with a huge ass chapter. LOL. OK, the next part of the chapter should be up soon.


	31. Big News

AN: Hey guys, here's the next part from the very long chapter. :)

-

Once both Naomi and Ethan had both changed into their night clothes-Ethan now wearing the same thing he wore the night before-they both stood at opposite sides of the bed.

"So……I guess we should go to sleep now.." Naomi said.

"Yeah." Ethan replied, although neither made a move to get into bed. Naomi looked at him.

"…….Do you feel as weird about it as I do?" She asked. Ethan sighed and nodded.

"Which I don't get, I mean, we shared the bed last night."

"Yeah, but there's a bit of a difference between what we did yesterday and what we did today." Naomi pointed out. "I mean, now it's like……..different."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Ethan said. "Should I sleep on the arm chair?" He suggested. "Or maybe Dr. Oliver's study.." He added, seeing as maybe even watching her sleep would be weird. Naomi seemed torn on the idea. Part of her wasn't sure if they should share the bed, but another part of her wanted to be next to him.

"I guess we should just…..Share the bed and see what happens…….I mean if either of us start to…….Feel really weird about it, then the sleeping arrangements can be changed." Naomi said.

"Good idea." Ethan said. Naomi pulled back the covers on her side of the bed and slid in as Ethan went and shut off the light. He had now gotten a feel of what was where in the dark so he had no trouble finding the bed and getting in on his side. "Good night." He said.

"Good night." She responded. She leaned in and gave him a kiss on the cheek. She then turned to her other side, her back to him. Ethan couldn't stop himself as he reached over and put an arm around her waist and pulled her close so they now lay in a spooning position. Naomi didn't seem to mind. She placed one of her hands on top of his and leaned her head back, resting it against his chest. The two soon fell asleep in this position.

-

After staying by Conner's side for hours, Mrs. McKnight took Kyle and Eric back to the house. The doctor told them that they wanted to keep Conner in the hospital for a few more days to make sure he was fully recovered from surgery and that the swelling had actually gone down in his brain. Kira opted to stay with Conner a little longer. She sat by his side and watched him eat some hospital food.

"Man, if people weren't sick before they came to the hospital this stuff would definitely make them sick." Conner commented as he took another bite. Kira laughed.

"Then why are you still eating?" She asked.

"Because I'm hungry." Conner replied. "Hunger rules over all taste buds." Kira laughed again. She went to get up.

"I could try to get you someth-" She began but was stopped by Conner putting his hand on her wrist.

"No." He said. "I want you to stay right here." He said. She looked in his eyes, all joking ness had disappeared and all that remained was love and the need to have her near. Kira gave him a soft smile and sat back down.

"Okay." She said. Conner smiled broadly and continued eating. Kira's mind wondered to when he first woke up.

"_**..Oh….God…" She whispered. There was Conner with his eyes wide open, staring right at her. **_

"_**He..ey.." He said hoarsely, Kira figured it was because his throat was dry from not drinking any type of fluids this whole time. Tears came to her eyes. She wanted to run to him, or run and get a doctor, but she couldn't seem to move her feet, or her eyes. Conner gave her a smile. "What's up?" He asked coolly, as if he wasn't lying in a hospital bed and they were just sitting in the lunchroom at school or something. Kira couldn't help laugh a bit.**_

"_**Nothing much, you?" She asked. **_

"_**Pretty much the same. Just waking up in a hospital and seeing all these IV's in my arm. You know the usual." He said. Kira was torn. Her heart wanted her to rush into his arms and kiss him forever but she knew she should get the doctor. She cleared her throat. **_

"_**I…I'll go get the doctor." She said softly. She went outside and soon found Conner's doctor. She told him that Conner was awake. He tried to tell her that sometimes when people are in a coma, they might move or even open their eyes but it doesn't mean their awake, to which Kira replied "Well, his eyes are open, he's moving his head around, and oh yeah, he talked to me." The doctor's smug attitude vanished as he asked for two nurses to come with him. While they checked on Conner, Kira ran to the nearest payphone and excitedly called Tommy and Ethan, telling them to come to the hospital. After that, she went back to the now empty (except for Conner, of course.) hospital room where he seemed to be a little bit more alert and had the IVs taken out. **_

"_**I was worried you had run off or something." Conner said when he saw her, his voice still hoarse. Kira shook her head. She went to the side where a pitcher of water and some plastic cups sat on a table and poured some into a cup. She went and sat beside him.**_

"_**There's no chance of me going anywhere." She said. She put her hand behind his head and lifted it up a bit. She brought the cup to his lips and tilted it so he could drink. Conner coughed a bit. "Small sips, small sips." She told him softly. Conner did so. The cup was soon empty and she placed it on the side. "Do you want some more?" She asked. Conner shook his head.**_

"_**No, thanks." He said, his voice sounding better now that he had drunk some water. Kira smiled, and then paused.**_

"_**Oh crap." She said.**_

"_**What?"**_

"_**I called Ethan and Dr. O, but I forgot to call your mom." There was a phone on the table beside Conner's bed. She reached for it, but Conner stopped her.**_

"_**Let me do it." He said. Kira gave him a look. She could only imagine what Mrs. McKnight would say when she heard his voice. Kira sighed and shook her head. She lifted the receiver and handed it to him. Conner held it to his ear as she dialed his home phone. Conner smiled. "It's ringing." He informed her. After a while Conner's sat up a bit, Kira figured someone picked up. "Hey mom." He said. He then jumped and pulled the phone away from his ear a bit. Kira could hear his mom yelling something indistinctively. Conner waited until it died down a bit and brought the phone back to his ear. "Hey…..Yeah I'm all right……..The doctor checked me out and everything….Yeah…….Okay…..I'll see you." He then handed the phone to Kira and she hung up for him. He looked at her. "After my mom nearly fainted and everything, Eric took the phone from her. He was a bit surprised too." Conner smirked. "They'll be here in a bit." **_

"_**Okay." She said. Conner pressed a button on his bed and made the top part of his bed tilt up a bit so he wasn't lying down anymore. He looked at Kira. "What?" She asked.**_

"_**There's one thing I've been dying to do since I woke up." He said. **_

"_**Oh..Oh gosh, yeah, you must be hungry. Let me go see if I can find you anything." She got up. Conner caught her wrist and pulled her to him. She stumbled and ended up landing on the bed right next to him. **_

"_**That's not what I meant." He said. Conner leaned in and captured her lips in a kiss. Kira good feel the hallelujah chorus going off in her head. She had missed Conner's kisses so much. They slowly elevated into making out, and then that's when the others showed up.**_

"Kira?" She shook her head as Conner's voice broke into her thoughts. She looked at him.

"Hmm?"

"Nothing, you just seemed to be spaced out." He said. He looked at her. _Should I tell her the stuff I saw about our future? _He wondered. _Nah…..At least one of us should get to be surprised. _He reached over and held her hand in his. Kira smiled at him. She leaned in and gave him a soft kiss. "What was that for?" He asked.

"Just me being still glad you're all right." She said.

"Hmm, you know what? I'm a little dumb, so maybe you should tell me how glad you are again." Conner smiled. Kira laughed and kissed him again and again….and again.

"Is that enough?" She asked with a smirk.

"For now, I guess." Conner said. Kira laughed again.

"I love you." She said. Conner looked at her.

"What? I thought you said you weren't sure." Conner said, surprised.

"Well, now I am sure." She said. She sighed. "When we were in the car, and I woke up and saw you lying there, not moving, I got scared. Scared that you might be dead, and scared of how my life would feel empty and meaningless without you in it."

"So, you're saying that if we weren't in the accident, you wouldn't feel this way?" Conner asked.

"No, I still would, it just would've taken maybe another week or so for me to realize that it was love." Kira said with a smile. "Why are you complaining anyway?" She asked. "I would think you'd like the news."

"I do." Conner said. "I just……If you're saying just because of what happened then-" Kira leaned in and silenced him with a long, slow and passionate kiss, much like the one he gave her that night Eric first arrived on his front porch. After it ended, Conner stared at her.

"Whoa." He breathed out. Kira kissed the tip of his nose.

"So, now you believe me?" She asked. Conner numbly nodded, still trying to recover from the kiss. Kira couldn't help laugh.

"Good." She said. "And just so you know, as much as I love you, you ever scare me like that again, and I will severely hurt you." She threatened.

"Yes ma'am." Conner said. Kira smiled and gave him a quick peck on the lips.

-

Two weeks passed. It seemed that Trent dropped out of school, which made it all right for Naomi and Ethan to return to school. Of course, even with the disappearance of Trent, Ethan refused to let her out of her sight, just to be safe. Not that Naomi minded that much. Conner returned to school, although not to ranger business. Tommy wanted him to recover a little bit more and take it easy before he tried to do anything major. Conner joked saying he had a vacation, but in reality he felt a little useless standing in the sidelines while his teacher, best friend and girlfriend were able to fight. Yes, Kira's wrist healed perfectly and she took back her gem. Kimberly and Tommy decided to wait a while before sharing the news of their engagement with everyone else. Kimberly thought it was because Tommy wanted to wait until they tied up some problems with the bad guys, but it reality, Tommy wanted to postpone the announcement until he could get Kimberly the perfect engagement ring. Ethan and Naomi were still trying to define what their relationship was and so didn't tell the others about their kissing escapades until they were sure there was something to tell. At the moment, the only ones who knew were Kimberly and Tommy. In their effort to define what they were, Naomi and Ethan didn't mind spending time in the janitor's closet, or an empty class room, or each other's houses while empty, kissing. As for Eric and Kyle, Kyle went back to Blue Bay Harbor the day after Conner woke up, but came back to visit whenever he had the chance. Eric didn't go to visit him for the simple fact of risking the chance of running into his father. Kyle understood, and even told him that if Eric had tried to come to Blue Bay, he would've tried his hardest to talk him out of it. In terms of backstage ranger duties, Naomi was able to get Haley to start showing her how the computers in the underground lab worked so now the rangers had two computer whizzes helping them out during battles. It was now getting closer and closer to summer vacation and the teens were excitedly talking about what their plans might be. Kyle had invited Eric to Arizona with his family and Eric had accepted. The others were sticking close to home and decided to plan out their days together filled with day trips, visits to the beach, concerts in the park, and many other things. At the moment, the rangers, Naomi, Kimberly, Trini and Haley all sat in the park for a picnic. Tommy had set it up, saying he had something important to say. Little did he know, Kimberly had something important to say too.

It was a sunny Saturday afternoon as they all sat in the park. Kira and Conner were sitting together with their arms around each other, Tommy and Kimberly were sitting next to each other and Trini-who had now taken up calling Tommy 'daddy' on a regular basis once she was told it was all right-was sitting on Tommy's lap. Naomi, Ethan and Haley sat together. Naomi wanted to sit with Ethan the same way Conner and Kira were, but she knew they weren't ready to go public about what was going on between them just yet.

"So, Dr. O, what's this big news you want to share with us all?" Conner asked. Tommy smiled and looked at Kimberly. She looked a little stressed. She looked at him and knew exactly what he was thinking.

"Uh…..Tommy, can I talk to you for a second?" She asked. Tommy nodded. Trini got up and sat on the blanketed ground and Tommy got up. Kimberly stood up and dusted some grass off the back of her white sundress. She took Tommy's hand and they went off to the side.

"I wonder what's going on." Naomi said. Kimberly led Tommy far enough, making sure they were out of earshot, before stopping and looking at him.

"What's up?" Tommy asked. Kimberly took a deep breath.

"Okay, well, uh, you know how lately I haven't been feeling too great?" She asked. Tommy nodded.

"Yeah, we thought you caught the flu or something." Tommy said. Per Kimberly's request, Tommy had kept Trini at a distance from her mother for the last few days because they thought she was sick and they didn't want Trini catching it.

"Oh, it's definitely something." Kimberly said softly. Tommy looked at her, unsure what she was saying. "Tommy, I……….I had one of the other OB/GYN's at the hospital check me out after I realized I was late….I……." Kimberly took another deep breath. "I'm pregnant." She said. Tommy stared at her.

"What?" He asked, barely above a whisper. Kimberly gulped, her mind flashing back to Anton's reaction when she told him about Trini. She was afraid Tommy would leave her alone, just like Anton did.

"I'm pregnant….With your child." She said, her voice shaking.


	32. Joy and Jealousy

AN: Yet another part from the mother of all chapters. Enjoy.

-

"We're going to have a baby?" Tommy asked. Without warning, he grabbed Kimberly in a hug and lifted her off the ground. He gave a loud joyful laugh as he spun her around, almost the same way he did the first time they kissed and she agreed to go to the dance with him, and much like then, Kimberly giggled. Tommy set her down.

"Are you…..Okay with this?" She asked.

"Are you kidding? I'm more then okay!" He said. He paused. "You thought I'd react the same way Anton did?" He asked. Kimberly sighed.

"It's just.." Her voice trailed off.

"No, no, I understand." Tommy said. "Anton hurt you. But, I have absolutely no intention of ever hurting you." He said. Kimberly smiled as tears of happiness filled her eyes. She wiped at them.

"Are you sure you want to tell the others about everything now? I mean, if you want to wait, I ca-" She began.

"Kim, I'm ready." He said. He took her hand and led her back to the others. Everyone saw the happy expressions they both held.

"What's going on?" Kira asked.

"Well, guys, uh, I thought I just had one announcement to make, but apparently I….Well, we….have two." He said. They all waited for them to continue. "First," he said. He bent down on one knee and took a box out of his pocket. Everyone, including Kimberly, gave a collective gasp.

"Tommy, what are you doing?" She whispered. She didn't understand why he was proposing if she had said yes two weeks ago.

"Asking you to marry me the proper way." He said, smiling up at her. He took the box in both hands and opened it, displaying a ring to her. Kimberly felt more tears in her eyes at how beautiful the ring was. It had a platinum band and the diamond was a good size pear shaped jewel with small pick jewel on either side of it. "Kimberly Ann Hart, will you marry me?" He asked. Kimberly covered her mouth, overcome by her tears and quickly nodded. Tommy smiled and took the ring out. He took her left hand and slid the ring on her finger. Tommy stood up and the two hugged. Everyone else clapped and said their congratulations. Trini jumped up from her spot on the ground and ran to them. Tommy smiled and picked her up.

"You're going to get married?" Trini asked them. They both nodded.

"And that's not all." Kimberly said, wiping at her tears again. "You're going to have a little brother or sister." She said. Everyone stared at her even more at that.

"Wait, are you saying…..You're…." Conner began to say.

"Pregnant?" Ethan finished. Kimberly nodded. Haley got up and grabbed Kimberly into a hug.

"Oh my gosh, congratulations." She said. Kimberly returned the hug. Trini looked at Tommy.

"My mommy's going to have a baby?" She asked. Tommy nodded.

"Yeah, what do you think of that?" He asked. Trini gave a wide smile and hugged Tommy.

"You're gonna have to learn how to change diapers, daddy." She said. Tommy chuckled. The rest of the afternoon was spent talking about the marriage and the baby. Haley told Kimberly that the newsstand by Cyberspace had a lot of wedding magazines and that was enough to get Kimberly up and suggesting they go get them. Naomi and Kira decided to go with them, taking Trini along as well, leaving the males to cleanup the picnic.

"So, Dr. O, this wedding, is it going to be like meca of former rangers?" Conner asked as he put some paper plates in a garbage bag. Tommy rolled his eyes.

"It might, but I do hope that's not all you think of it as." Tommy said.

"Of course not." Conner said.

"So, any idea who you might want as your best man?" Ethan asked. Tommy sighed. Whenever he thought about getting married, he always imagined Kimberly as his bride, Trini as the maid of honor and Jason as his best man. Jason was still in his coma and Trini was deceased. _Well, _he thought bitterly. _One out of three ain't bad. _

"I don't know yet." He said. "I mean, there's a lot to choose from."

"May I suggest one of your two favorite students? Possibly one who has the tendency to wear red?" Conner joked. Tommy laughed.

"You both are in the running, but I've got to think about it." He said.

"Cool." Both guys said.

-

After the ladies picked up some magazines, they went to sit in Cyberspace as they looked through the magazines.

"So, Dr. Hart, who's going to be your maid of honor?" Naomi asked as she flipped through one of the magazines. Kimberly looked up from the dress she was looking at.

"I'm not sure yet. I might get Dana……..Or Aisha, if she can get here from Africa. I mean, I wish I could get the one person who's known me the longest and was there for me for so long."

"You mean your friend, Trini?" Haley asked. Kimberly nodded. She looked at Trini who was off sitting by the TV watching cartoons.

"Wasn't she the original yellow ranger?" Kira asked. Again, Kimberly nodded.

"She died in a car accident a few years ago." Kimberly said, looking down. Naomi and Kira each put a hand on one of hers.

"I'm sorry." Kira said. Kimberly gave them both a smile.

"It's okay. I mean, wherever she is, I'm sure she's happy." She said. She cleared her throat. "Mmm, what do you guys think of something like this for bridesmaid dresses?" She asked showing them a picture of a long strapless dress that hugged the torso of the model in the picture. "I'm thinking of having like an assortment of colors, you know? Not just pick some color and make them wear it even if it's a color that would make 'em puke." She laughed.

"That's a cool idea." Naomi said.

"Yeah." Haley said. Kimberly looked at Haley.

"So, what color would you wear?" She asked. Haley looked back at her.

"You want me to be a bridesmaid?" She asked, a little surprised. "Why?"

"Well, you're one of Tommy's best friends, and you've been a good friend to me. So, what do you say?" She asked. Haley smiled.

"Hmm, I don't know, maybe something in violet." She said. Kimberly smiled.

"That's a good color." She said.

"So, who are you planning on inviting?" Kira asked.

"You mean, what former rangers do I plan on inviting?" Kimberly asked in a teasing tone. Kira smiled.

"OK, so the idea of meeting some rangers is kinda cool." Kira admitted. Kimberly laughed.

"Well, I'm going to try and get Aisha, again only if she can come into the country, she was the second yellow ranger and Zach, the original black ranger, if he's not busy with the show."

"What show?" Naomi asked.

"He's in this touring production of Rent. He's playing Benny."

"Wow." Kira said.

"Let's see…..I think the last I heard Rocky, the second red ranger, was in Africa with Aisha……Adam's in New York with Tanya, he's the 2nd black ranger and she's the third yellow ranger……."

"You guys sure went through a lot of yellow rangers." Kira commented. The others all laughed.

"Didn't you guys have an original blue ranger?" Naomi asked.

"Yeah, but he's kind of……..Not on this planet the last time I heard."

"What, is he an astronaut?" Kira asked.

"Uh no, he's living on this planet called Aquitar."

"Whoa. Okay, I know being a power ranger entails a lot of weird and not so normal things, but…..wow….." Kira said.

"Yeah." Kimberly said.

"Are you going to invite Kat?" Haley asked. She knew so much about the former rangers because when she and Tommy met, he would always talk about his old friends.

"She's the one who replaced you, right?" Kira asked Kimberly. She nodded.

"Yes. And…I don't know. I mean the last time I saw her she and Tommy were together, it would be kind of weird. I mean, if Tommy wants, he can invite her."

"I wonder how you guys are going to break down 'bride's side' and 'groom's side' when it comes to the seating." Naomi said. Kimberly thought about it a second.

"Your right, that's going to be a little hard, I mean, if Tommy invited Tanya, Justin, and all the other ranger's he knows, then they'd go on the groom's side, I guess. But the others….I guess we'll have to flip a coin." She joked. She sighed.

"What's wrong?" Haley asked.

"I just………There's one person I want to be there and I know Tommy would most likely want as his best man but…..He's not…….." She sighed. "It's our friend Jason, the original red ranger, he's been in a coma for two years and I don't know when he'll wake up and I just.." She felt tears filling her eyes. Haley put an arm around her.

"I'm sure Jason will be fine. I'll bet you that he'll be awake and ready to stand by Tommy on your wedding day." Haley said. Kimberly smiled at Haley.

"Thanks." She said. She wiped at her tears. "God I'm so emotional today." She said with a laugh.

"Well, you're pregnant and are engaged, you're allowed to be emotional." Haley said. Kimberly laughed again. "So, I have a suggestion, let's put aside the wedding talk and just have ourselves some good old fashion girl talk?" Haley said, wanting to make Kimberly get her mind off of Jason so she'd feel better.

"Okay." Kimberly said. "So, Naomi, how are things with Ethan?" She asked. Haley and Kira both looked at Naomi, who blanched.

"Uh……What do you mean? There are no 'things' between me and Ethan." Naomi stammered. Kimberly gave her an odd look, and then she realized that Naomi hadn't told the others about her and Ethan yet.

"I guess you're right, sorry, my mistake." She said.

"Yeah, I mean, it's pretty easy to mistake you guys as more then just friends." Haley said, remembering how they were sitting on the couch watching T.V. that day. Naomi sighed.

"All right, all right, we've sorta been kissing…………a lot…….." Naomi admitted, causing Haley and Kira's eyes to go wide.

"Since when?" Kira asked.

"Well, you remember the night Conner woke up? We had our first kiss like 20 minutes before you called his cell phone and when you did call him we were about to go into our fourth."

"And how many has it been since then?" Haley asked jokingly. Naomi groaned and put her head down.

"So are you guys a couple?" Kira asked.

"No…….I mean……Not yet…………I don't know………We're in that phase right now where all we do is suck face…..Which, of course isn't a bad thing." Naomi said. Kimberly laughed, knowing what she meant.

"When Tommy and I were in high school and we first started dating, there was a week where all we would do is make-out. There was this one time when we were trying to sort of find a place where no one would find us so we wouldn't be bugged, we went to the zord bay." She laughed a little at the memory. "Well, about five minutes into it, Billy and Alpha walk in to do some repairs on one of the zords, and they caught us." She laughed. "Billy's face was so red and Alpha just kept muttering 'ay-yi-yi-yi-yi.'." She said, imitating the small robot. The others laughed.

"Conner and I didn't have the 'all we do is kiss' phase." Kira said.

"And what do you call what you two were doing when we came into his hospital room that night?" Naomi snickered.

"Oh come on. My boyfriend just woke up from a coma, what'd you expect?" Kira said. "Anyway, I mean, yeah we do do a lot of kissing, but we always talk and stuff."

"Ethan and I talk.." Naomi said. She paused, realizing that they hadn't really done much of it as of late. She frowned. "Sometimes." She muttered. She sighed. "I don't know, maybe I'm just trying to figure out how I feel before I put a label on us."

"Man and I thought it was usually the guy who was afraid of labels." Haley joked. Naomi sighed.

"I mean, Ethan told me he loves me, and……Yeah I like him a lot, but I'd feel weird being in a relationship if I wasn't sure I loved him to."

"Well, Conner told me he loved me long before I said it back. Just because he said it shouldn't mean you should feel compelled to know exactly how you feel that very moment."

"I guess you're right. I just……Want to be sure." Naomi said. "Can we please talk about someone else's love life?" She asked. The others laughed at her expense. After a while, the guys walked into Cyberspace. Trini saw Tommy come in and excitedly got up and ran to him. Tommy gave her a hug. He went and sat beside Kimberly and pulled Trini onto his lap. Conner sat next to Kira and Ethan sat between Naomi and Haley.

"So, ladies, what have you all been up to?" Ethan asked. Haley and Kira looked at Naomi, then back at Ethan and tried their bests to hold in laughs, only to fail miserably.

"Excuse us." Haley said. She and Kira stumbled outside.

"What was that?" Conner asked. Naomi groaned.

"Nothing." She said. "Inside joke." Ethan frowned. He had a feeling what it is they had been laughing about and it gave him a bad feeling.

"Hey, I just remembered, I was supposed to meet up with my brother and sister at the mall. I've got to go." Ethan said, getting up. He quickly left. Naomi sighed. She got up and followed Ethan. Naomi sidestepped Kira and Haley as they came back into Cyberspace and ran after Ethan.

"Ethan, wait." She said. Ethan sighed and turned to her.

"So, is this all some sort of joke to you?" He asked. Naomi shook her head.

"No, no, nothing like that."

"Right." Ethan said, not believing her.

"Look, Dr. Hart said something about you and I, Haley and Kira sort of got me to talk about it."

"……._It_…….." Ethan said.

"Stop it." Naomi said. "Kira and Haley weren't laughing at you, they were laughing at me because I was being like kind of pathetic and whiny and stuff." She sighed. Ethan looked at her.

"Oh.." He said. He looked down and then back up at her. "I'm sorry. I guess this whole hiding thing and not really having a total idea of what we are is making me a little insecure." Naomi walked closer to him.

"I'm sorry. I know I'm not being fair, I just…"

"No, it's okay. I understand…….Or well, okay; I'll continue to pretend to understand." He joked. Naomi gave him a smile and they kissed.

"So, do you want to go back inside?" She asked.

"Actually, I wasn't just trying to make an exit when I said I had to go. My siblings and I are buying our aunt a present from all of us and I need to meet up with them." He said. "You can come with me, if you want." He said.

"I wouldn't want to intrude on a family thing."

"Oh, trust me, buying a present for this woman is torture, we're all just getting her something together so we don't need to spend money individually on her." He said. Naomi smiled.

"Okay." She said. Ethan and Naomi held hands as they walked to the mall. "So, you guys don't like your aunt?" Naomi asked. Ethan shook her head.

"She has the tendency to be a crotchety old bitch…Minus the old part." He laughed. "When Grace, my sister got pregnant, she made this huge thing about it and tried to bad mouth her to all our other relatives."

"So, why do you even bother?" Naomi asked. Ethan grinned.

"To make her feel bad about not bothering with us." He said. They soon reached the mall. As soon as they walked into the food court, a small light skinned African American child with slanted eyes latched himself to Ethan's legs.

"Uncwle Efan!" The child yelled through his lisp. Ethan laughed and bent down. He picked up the child.

"Hey, Marcus, where's your mom?" He asked. Marcus pointed to one of the tables where an African American woman who looked to be in her very early twenties sat. She gave Ethan a wave. Ethan smiled. He looked at Naomi. "Come on." He said. Naomi followed Ethan as he carried Marcus over to the table. The woman stood up. Ethan set Marcus down. "Hey, Grace." He said, giving her a half hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"Hey, lil' bro." She said, giving him a kiss back.

"Where's Derek?" Ethan asked. Grace rolled her eyes.

"We ran into some girls who, according to him, are in his Ethics class, so of course, he took the time to flirt with them." She said.

"Oh. Oh, hey, sorry, almost forgot." He took Naomi's hand and brought her closer to the table. "Grace, this is Naomi, Naomi this is my older sister Grace and my nephew Marcus." He said, introducing them.

"It's nice to meet you." Naomi said to Grace. Grace smiled.

"So, you're the girl my brother seemed to talk about endlessly during Sunday dinners, huh?" She said. Naomi's cheeks turned crimson.

"Grace!" Ethan hissed. Grace gave a short laugh. She then saw someone coming towards them.

"Ah, there's our lecherous brother now." She said. Ethan and Naomi turned to see a tall, slightly muscular guy who looked like he was in college walking over to them.

"Baby bro." Derek said, slapping Ethan five. Ethan smiled.

"So, get their numbers?" Ethan asked, referring to the girls he must've been flirting with.

"Always man, always." He said. He bent down and picked up Marcus. "Hey, little man." He said. He looked at Naomi. "Who's she?" He asked his siblings.

"I'm-" Naomi began to answer.

"She's the famous Naomi." Grace said.

"Ah, Naomi." Derek said. He set Marcus down. "It looks like my baby bro's got good taste." He put an arm around Naomi. She laughed softly, a little nervous by the attention. Ethan sighed. He pushed Derek's arm off of Naomi.

"Would you quit calling me 'baby bro'? For Pete's sakes, you're just three years older then me." He said. "Besides, Naomi's-"

"I bet you say that to all of Ethan's girlfriends." Naomi said to Derek. Ethan looked at her. She simply gave him a smile.

"Anyway, let's go and get Aunt Maureen a gift. This year, I think we should get her rat poison." Derek said.

"Der, you and I both know Aunt Maureen keeps her house immaculate, she doesn't have any rats." Grace said as she picked up her son. The three siblings and Naomi left the food court.

"Who said it was for the rats?" Derek asked. Grace and Ethan rolled their eyes and Naomi laughed. "Ah, my comedic stylings are not lost on all of you. Ethan, I like her." Derek said. Naomi took Ethan's hand. The five of them drifted from store to store. Marcus was happily being carried by his mother without a care in the world while Naomi just followed the others as they discussed what to get their aunt. At one point, Grace and Derek went to look at something, leaving Naomi and Ethan alone. Ethan looked at Naomi.

"You didn't have to lie to them, I mean; we could've just said we're friends." Ethan said. He looked through a rack of birthday cards.

"I wasn't lying." Naomi said. "Talking to Kira earlier and now you feeling totally cool about me meeting your family, well, some of your family, kind of helped me figure it all out." She saw a card and handed it to Ethan. "How's this one?" Ethan looked at it. He put it back.

"Too 'I love my auntie'. We kind of go for civil, but not overly loving." Ethan said. "Anyway, figure what out?" Ethan asked.

"Well, you said you loved me, and I thought that I should know if I felt that way before we officially became a couple."

"So, you're still not sure?"

"No, but we don't have to hide and sneak around it anymore." She said. "I want to sit with you like Kira and Conner were sitting in the park today. I want to walk down the halls in school with you hand in hand; I want to meet your parents."

"Whoa, whoa, back up." Ethan laughed. He set a card he had picked up down and looked at her. "I get it." He cupped her face. "So, we're a couple now?"

"Yeah."

"So, kissing in public is okay?" He asked. Naomi simply grinned. Ethan leaned in and was about to kiss her when the sound of Grace clearing her throat was heard. Ethan turned to see Grace there holding Marcus.

"Find a card?" She asked.

"No, not yet." Ethan said sheepishly.

"Derek kept talking about the girls he ran into so I just told him to give me some money and go after them." She said. "So it's just down to us. I'm thinking maybe a blouse would work for her present, so how about you," she said, coming over to Ethan and handing him Marcus. "Stay here with your nephew and find a card." She said. She went and took Naomi's hand. "And Naomi and I will find something for Aunt Maureen, so now you won't get distracted." She smirked. Ethan gave her a mean look.

"Ha ha, very funny." Ethan said. Grace smiled and led Naomi out of the store and into a woman's clothing store. The two of them walked around the store.

"So, how long have you and Ethan been together?" Grace asked as she looked through a rack of blouses.

"About two weeks." Naomi said.

"Have you guys had to deal with the issues?" She asked. Naomi looked at her.

"What issues?"

"You know, the whole race thing." She said. Naomi stared at her blankly. "Sweetie, I married a Korean guy, I know about the issues."

"Well, no….I mean, we haven't really been too public about it since today. But I really don't think people would make a stink about it."

"Why do you think we're not clamoring to buy our aunt the most expensive gift?" Grace asked. "When she found out I was marrying an Asian guy, and having a baby by him, she went ballistic."

"I thought it was just because you were young when it happened."

"Trust me, if I had gotten pregnant by some black guy, she wouldn't have said boo." Grace spat out. "I was 19 when I got pregnant with Marcus. My parents didn't particularly like the fact that it was going to interfere with college, but they like Elvin. They were happy that Elvin joined our little crazy family and happy I was happy. But Aunt Maureen, all she cared about was that I was going to have a 'yellow' baby."

"I'm sorry." Naomi said. Grace shook her head.

"I'm just telling you this because not everyone's going to like the fact you're together. I mean sure, we're in the 21st centaury and one would think no one would give a crap about what color skin people have, but the whole bi-racial thing still rattles some chains."

"Are you one of those folks who don't like it?" Naomi asked carefully. Grace looked at her.

"Honey, I wouldn't care if you were green with pink polka-dots and had a third eye. Ethan likes you a lot. He's happy. That's all that matters." She said. Naomi smiled.

"I like him a lot too." She said.

"Now, if you hurt my brother in anyway, then we'll have issues." Grace warned.

"Well, it's a good thing that I have no intention of hurting him, isn't it?" Naomi said. Grace smiled.

"So, during one of m brother's many declarations of the greatness of Naomi, he mentioned you went to an all girl's boarding school." Grace said. "Is Ethan your first boyfriend?"

"Well, no, not exactly." Naomi said. "He's my second. I dated this one guy for a little bit, but I don't know if it counts."

"And why's that?" Grace asked. Naomi chose her words carefully, so no element of Ethan's alter ego came out.

"The guy was a jerk. I didn't like him a whole lot and he was still hung up on this girl he was obsessed with. He had some problems."

"Ah, so it didn't count." Grace said. "According to the dating handbook, if the guy's a jerk, it doesn't count." She said. Naomi laughed.

"Ethan said that to me after I broke up with the other guy."

"And how long was it until you and Ethan hooked up?" Grace asked.

"Uh…….Two days…" Naomi said. Grace laughed.

"Saw a winner right away, huh?" Grace said. Naomi nodded.

"Hey, why don't you get your aunt a gift certificate? Let her pick her own gift."

"Oh we would so do that, except our parents strictly said no gift certificates. We're supposed to put some thought into it." Grace groaned. Naomi saw a display of jewelry.

"How about earrings or a bracelet?" She asked. Grace looked over to the display.

"Hmm, that might work." She said. They both walked over to the display and looked over the selections.

"So, when you and Elvin are together, do people give you strange looks or something?" Naomi asked.

"Sometimes." Grace said.

"So, how do you deal with it? I mean, just so I know, in case-"

"In case you've got to deal with it?" Grace said. Naomi nodded. Grace smiled. "Good to hear you're not planning on dropping Ethan at the first sign of trouble." She complimented. "Anyway, just ignore the stares and whispers. If any little white girls try to get in your face about it, just tell them their jealous that you can find out first hand about the myth on black men." Grace grinned. Naomi's eyes widened.

"No, no, we haven't….."

"Oh, I know that. But that line will most likely shut them up for a while, long enough to give you a graceful exit."

"Oh." Naomi said. She paused. "How do you know we haven't?"

"Because you're his first girlfriend, and you've been together for just two weeks."

"I'm his first? I would've thought he-"

"No. Actually, up until this year, he was a kind of shy guy, you know, mostly kept to himself. Then he started hanging out with this guy and girl from school…. and Kira I think, and he started coming out of his shell a bit."

"Why doesn't that surprise me?" Naomi asked. "Conner's kind of a popular guy. Probably pretty close to the whole 'big man on campus' idea. Conner has the ability to make anyone be less shy. Actually, when I met the three of them and started hanging out with them, I became the more outgoing person you see today." Naomi said.

"Well, that's great." Grace said. She saw a pair of small earrings. The jewels looked like diamonds, but the price certainly said otherwise. "How are these?"

"They look deceivingly a lot like diamonds." Naomi said.

"And most likely aren't even cubic zirconium." Grace said. "They're perfect. Fake, just like her." Grace said. "Sorry, did that sound bitter?"

"Just a little." Naomi said. "But it's okay." She said. Grace smiled. She picked up the earrings and they went to the cash register and paid for the earrings. They then went off to find Ethan. They found him sitting on a bench with Marcus. Marcus was busy licking an ice cream, with most of it on him.

"Ethan!" Grace groaned, going over to them. "What did I tell you about giving this boy ice cream?" She scolded.

"Sorry, he begged and pleaded, and I couldn't say no." Ethan said. Grace rolled her eyes.

"And you wonder why you're his favorite uncle." She said. She took the cone from Marcus sticky hands. She held it with the tips of her fingers and dumped it in the nearby trashcan.

"Mommy, I not finished."

"Oh, don't start with me, buddy. I told you you couldn't have ice cream, and what do you do? Beg your uncle." She took his hand. "Naomi, can you hold this while I go clean up the monster?" She said.

"Sure." Naomi said. Grace handed her the bag with the earrings in it.

"Thanks." She said. Grace then walked to the ladies room, dragging Marcus behind her. Naomi went and sat beside Ethan.

"Push over." Naomi teased. Ethan groaned.

"Yes, but you already knew that."

"True."

"So, what did you and Grace talk about in the store? Or should I say, what did she say about me?" Ethan asked. Naomi laughed.

"Nothing. We just talked about stuff."

"What stuff?"

"Girl stuff." Naomi said.

"Oh." Ethan said. "So, what did Grace end up getting for our aunt?"

"Fake diamond earrings." Naomi said. Ethan laughed.

"How fake?"

"Well, let's just say the price was two digits. A not to high two digits." Naomi said. Ethan laughed again. "So, did your brother go off with those girls?"

"I think so. I haven't seen him." Ethan said. After a few minutes, Grace returned with a now cleaned up Marcus. She walked over to them.

"So, did you get the card?" She asked Ethan. He nodded and handed the bag with her in it to her.

"I signed it too. So you just need to track down Derek and get him to sign."

"I'll do it later. I need to get home to cook dinner." She said. "You guys need a ride?" She asked.

"No, we're fine." Ethan said. Naomi handed her the bag with the earrings in it. "Oh hey, you know dinner tomorrow's cancelled because mom and dad are doing one of their middle-aged date things, right?" Ethan asked. Grace laughed. She looked at Naomi.

"Our dad got tickets to some concert and they're going to it and having dinner together. Yes, Ethan, I know. Tell mom and dad I hope they have fun." She said. "Come on, Marcus." She said as the two left leaving Ethan and Naomi.

-

Little did the others know that the past two weeks of peace and quiet was just time for Mesogog and his minions to formulate their next attack. The gem's effect on Trent had gone on, making him into a wild and crazed animal that they had to keep him under lock and key in a cage.

"Where all animals belong." Mesogog had said when they first threw the boy in there. He had watched the goings ons of the rangers and those close to them. He saw that Kimberly was now engaged and having Tommy's child. The very thought of his daughter slipping further and further out of his reach angered him to the point that he'd rather have her dead then see the black ranger as her father. He smirked at that thought. Without Trini, or Kimberly, or Naomi, for that matter, the rangers emotions would take over and they would be too grief stricken to fight, thereby making it more then easy for Mesogog to bring on his dream of reverting the world to the time of the dinosaurs. All the planning for the attack took days, and they were now close to the end of putting it all together. "Elsa." Mesogog called. Elsa slowly walked to him.

"Yes, my lord?" She asked.

"Are all the preparations complete?" He asked.

"Yes, master." She said, grinning like a Cheshire cat. She put her hands on his shoulders. She leaned in and kissed and nipped at his jaw line. "Master, if I may, could we-" She began. Mesogog took her chin in his hand.

"Not now." He said. "I want to taste my victory first. Then we can celebrate." He said. He let her go and walked off. "Leave me." He said. Elsa bowed respectfully and turned to leave. Mesogog watched her. "On second thought," he said, making Elsa stop. "Come to my chambers tonight. We will execute our plan tomorrow." He said. Elsa smiled wickedly.

"Yes, master." She said as she left.


	33. Naomi's Perfect Family

After Naomi and Ethan had gone back to Cyberspace from the mall, they told the others they were officially a couple. The others were happy for them, and Conner and Kira suggested that the four of them did a double date the next day. That night, Naomi, now back to staying at her own home, was searching for an acceptable outfit. This was going to be her first date with Ethan and she wanted to look perfect. She didn't stress this much for when she went out with Trent, but it was different that. What she felt for Ethan was much more then what she felt for Trent.

"Honey, dinner's ready." Naomi's mother said, walking into her room. She saw Naomi sitting inside her closet, tossing her clothes about. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing mom, I'll be down in a second." Naomi said. Her mother walked over to her.

"Says the girl who's rummaging through her closet." She smirked. "What's up?" She asked. Naomi sighed.

"I'm hanging out with some friends tomorrow and I want to pick out something to wear."

"And would one of these friends be a boy you like?"

"More like my boyfriend." Naomi muttered. Her mother stared at her.

"Since when do you have a boyfriend?" She asked. Naomi took a deep breath, yet another example of how clueless her parents were. They didn't know about her and Trent because they were too busy with work and other things, now one of the rare moments her mother was being attentive, she wanted to know about Ethan. She sighed and looked at her mother.

"Technically, we've been together for two weeks."

"Why didn't you tell your father and me about him?" _Because I might as well not even exist in this house. _Naomi thought to herself. She shrugged.

"I dunno." She said. "It just slipped my mind, I guess." She lied.

"Well, what's he like?"

"He's nice." Naomi said. "He's attentive, sweet, kind, considerate of my feelings." _Everything you and dad aren't. _She thought bitterly. Naomi had gotten used to hiding her feelings and such from her parents. When they first sent her to boarding school, she didn't want to go, but she played the part of the obedient daughter and stayed there for nine years. She never liked the place, but it grew on her. When her parents said they were taking her out of boarding school and putting her in public school, she wanted to stay in the place she had been in for so long, but yet again, she played the obedient daughter and went along with it. Now, looking back, of course she was glad she went along with it-She got Ethan and her friends out of it.

"Well, that's good. So, what's his name?"

"Ethan, Ethan James." Naomi said.

"And how'd you meet?" _Oh great, my mom's version of mother-daughter bonding, the third degree._

"In school." Came Naomi's automatic reply. "We've got some classes together."

"And what will you be doing tomorrow?"

"I don't know. We might go to the movies." Naomi said. _Okay, Gestapo mom, can I get back to picking out an outfit now? _Naomi's mother was silent for a while. She looked at her. _Oh dear lord, please tell me she's not thinking what I think she's thinking. _

"Honey," her mother began. "Maybe it's time we talked about-"

"Mom, I know about the birds and the bees." Naomi said. _Learned it from a health teacher at boarding school, in case you were wondering. _

"Oh. And you're not………." Her mother said, her voice trailing off. _Oh my god._

"No." Naomi said. Her mother smiled at that.

"Oh, good, I mean, not _good_, just….Okay, well, dinner's downstairs whenever you're ready." She said. And with that she left. Naomi sighed. Later that night, after she finally decided on an outfit, she went downstairs and ate alone, which wasn't a change for her. She then went and got ready for bed. The next day, she woke up early and took a shower. She stood in her room in her white bathroom, looking at the outfit she had picked out with scrutiny. She sighed and picked up her phone and dialed Kira's number. After a few rings she heard someone pick up.

"Hello?" Came an adult male's voice.

"Hi, Mr. Ford? I'm Naomi, a friend of Kira's. Is she there by any chance?" She asked politely.

"Yes, she is, hold on a second." He said. She heard him put the phone aside and after a moment or two heard it be picked up again.

"Hey." Kira said. "What's up?"

"Hey, do you think you could do me a huge favor?" Naomi asked.

"Sure, what is it?"

"Okay, I kind of need help picking out an outfit and doing all the other stuff that qualifies under getting ready, could you come over and help?"

"Uh sure, but you don't need to dress up, we're just hanging out."

"Kira, the word 'double date' was used yesterday when you and Conner suggested this. Now, this is my first date with Ethan and I'm freaking out here." Naomi said desperately.

"Ok, ok, say no more. Let me just call Conner and tell him to have Ethan and him meet us at the mall instead of picking us up at our houses and I'll be right over."

"Thank you so much." Naomi said. They hung up. Naomi went about putting on underwear and put her bathrobe back on. She then began to attempt to blow dry her hair. "Something tells me this isn't working." Naomi said to herself. Her hair hadn't gotten the sleek effect she had been hoping for, instead it had become a frizzy puffed up mess and the brush was stuck in it. She tried getting the brush out, but the thing wouldn't move. After a while, she heard the doorbell ring.

"Naomi, Kira's here." Her father announced.

"Okay." Naomi said. She quickly wrapped a towel around her head to hide the mess and ran downstairs. Kira was standing there with her hair up in a half pony-tail wearing jeans and a yellow shirt with a black sweater tied around her waist and carrying a black messenger bag type purse that was draped across her shoulders. Naomi rushed over and grabbed Kira's wrist and pulled her back upstairs. Kira was then dragged into Naomi's room.

"Whoa, where's the fire?" Kira asked as Naomi shut the door.

"Probably in my hair." Naomi said. She took the towel off. Kira's eyes widened.

"Oh my god." She covered her mouth and tried her best to stifle a laugh.

"It's not that funny."

"Sorry."

"Please tell me you can help with this." Naomi pleaded. Kira nodded.

"I can help." She said. She let Naomi to her desk. "Sit down." Naomi did so. "Okay, first of all, relax, take a deep breath."

"Kira, this isn't helping in getting the brush out of my hair."

"No, but it's helping in keeping you from having a total meltdown. Don't worry. I may not be the most girly female on the planet, but that doesn't mean I haven't had my share of brush mishaps." Naomi sighed and tried to calm down. "Now, do you have any conditioner?" She asked.

"Yeah, it's in the bathroom right across the hall."

"Ok, I'll be right back." Kira left and returned with Naomi's bottle of conditioner. She applied a medium amount into her palm and then began massaging it into the spot in Naomi's hair where the brush was stuck. "The conditioner will make your hair slippery enough to make getting the brush out easier, and reduce the Diana Ross-ness of your hair." She said as she spread the conditioner to the rest of Naomi's hair. After letting it sit for about a minute, she picked at the brush. She carefully untangled the brush from her hair, trying not to pull it. After about five minutes, the brush came free. "Your hair is now brush free." She said. Naomi gave a sigh of relief. "So now, go and rinse the conditioner out while I examine what we have to work with in terms of clothes." She said. Naomi got up and went to the bathroom. Kira looked through Naomi's closet and found a pair of nice blue jeans with some sparkles going down the legs. She put them on the bed and looked for a top. Deep in the back of Naomi's closet she found a blue tube top. She was a little surprised to find it, seeing as it didn't seem like something Naomi would wear. She shrugged and set it beside the pair of jeans. A few minutes later, Naomi came back, ruffling her wet hair with the towel. "Hey, do you have a strapless bra?" Kira asked, knowing that without one, the top wouldn't work. Naomi quickly ran to her door.

"What? Of course not." She said. She took a quick look outside; making sure her parents weren't in sight before shutting the door. "Bottom of the top drawer." She said. She saw the outfit on her bed. "Oh no, I can't wear that top."

"What?"

"I bought that on sort of a 'maybe I'll spice up my image' moment, but it's too.."

"Perfect for the occasion?" Kira said. She found the bra and tossed it on the bed.

"There is no way in hell my parents will let me walk out of the house with that on." Naomi said. Kira sighed and took off the sweater that was around her waist.

"And that is why god invented sweaters." She said, tossing it to her.

"You've done the whole deceiving outfit for the parents thing before, haven't you?"

"Oh yeah." Kira said. "We'll leave with you wearing the sweater and once we get to the mall, you take it off."

"But what will Ethan say?" Naomi asked. Kira smirked.

"My guess is he'll be to busy drooling to say much." She said. Naomi seemed to like the idea of looking especially nice for him.

"All right." She picked up the outfit and went back to the bathroom. A few minutes later she returned fully dressed holding the bra she had had on before. She put it back in her drawer. Her hair was wrapped up in the towel she had used before. "So, now what about my hair?" She asked. Kira took the towel off Naomi's head. She took the hair dryer and brush and slowly dried Naomi's hair, careful not to have a repeat of the puff performance. After a while, Naomi's hair was smooth and sleek. Kira took a hair tie and took some pieces from the side of Naomi's hair and made a half pony tail, letting the hair tie rest on the top of the back of Naomi's head. Once Kira was done, she looked at herself in the mirror. She made a face.

"What's wrong?" Kira asked.

"Oh, it's nothing. It's just, the glasses ruin the whole effect." Naomi said. She smiled. "Which is why this is a perfect time to break out the contacts." She said. "I'll be right back." She said, leaving again. She came back and placed her glasses on her nightstand. Kira looked at her.

"Wow, I don't think I've ever seen you without glasses." She said, amazed how different Naomi looked. Naomi shrugged.

"I guess I just don't bother with the whole dealing with contacts on a daily basis thing and just use them on special occasions."

"Well, I mean I'm your friend and you look fine either way, but you should consider wearing them more often, they really do make a difference on you." Kira said. Naomi smiled.

"I'll consider it. Okay, now, let's see how this looks." She turned to the mirror. "Oh my god." Naomi said.

"What?" Kira asked.

"I'm hot." Naomi said, both girls laughed. She noticed that a fair amount of cleavage was visible because of the top and instantly became self conscious. "Maybe I shouldn't wear this." She said.

"You look fine, and no, you don't look slutty." Kira said, picking up on what Naomi might've been thinking.

"Are you sure?"

"Positive." Kira assured her. "Now, for the final touches." She said. She sat Naomi down and proceeded to apply makeup to her face. Halfway into it, Naomi's phone rang. She got up and answered it.

"Hello?" She said.

"Hey, Naomi, it's Conner, listen, Ethan and I checked by the movie theatre in the mall, nothing good's playing, so we figured we'd hang out at the park."

"Oh, okay." Naomi said.

"So, we'll be waiting for you guys by the fountain, okay?"

"Yeah. Sure, I'll tell Kira. Bye." Naomi said. She hung up the phone. "Change of plans." She told Kira.

"Oh?"

"We're going to the park instead of the mall."

"Okay." Kira said. "Well, let me finish your makeup." She said. Naomi went over and let Kira finish up. Naomi then put on Kira's sweater and they left the room.

"Are you guys off now?" Naomi's mother asked as they walked to the door.

"Uh huh. I'll be home later." Naomi said.

"Well, isn't Ethan picking you up? Your father and I would like to meet him."

"Maybe some other time. Bye." Naomi said. And with that she and Kira left. They were a few feet from Naomi's house when Kira finally looked at her.

"Ok, what was that?"

"What was what?" Naomi asked.

"That. The whole icy air between you and your parents."

"It's nothing." Naomi said. She took off Kira's sweater and handed it back to her. "Thanks." They continued their walk to the park.

-

"Man, I'm nervous." Ethan said. He and Conner sat at the fountain, waiting for their girlfriends.

"Why?"

"Well, this is my first date with Naomi, sorry, my first date _ever_." Ethan groaned.

"You can't be nervous about being with Naomi. I mean you guys have been together for two weeks, which, by the way man, I'm a little hurt you kept me in the dark about, I thought we were best buds."

"We are, I just wanted to make sure there was something to tell. I mean for the past two weeks all we did was make out, it's different now. Now we're an actual couple…..Like you and Kira. I don't know if I can pull off the suave lovey dovey stuff you do. I mean, I feel it and I want to, but I'm just……I'm a newbie in the world of women."

"Dude, chill out." Conner said. "Just go with the flow." Ethan sighed and turned around facing the fountain. He put his hands on the stone surrounding and leaned forward. Conner sighed and shook his head. He looked off, waiting for Kira and Naomi to show. They soon appeared. "Oh my god." Conner said.

"What?" Ethan asked.

"Whatever you do, do not turn around, you might die of shock." Conner said. Ethan looked at him.

"What are you talking about?" Ethan asked.

"Hey guys." Kira said as she and Naomi walked over. Conner was still a little shocked by Naomi's outfit to respond. Ethan turned around and nearly fell backwards into the water.

"Na-Naomi?" He stammered. Kira smirked and leaned over to Naomi.

"See, what I tell you?" She whispered. Naomi giggled softly. Kira looked at Conner who was staring at Naomi. Thankfully, not the same way Ethan was. "Hey, Conner, mind looking over here?" She asked. Conner blinked and looked at Kira. He gave her a smile.

"Hey." He said. He went over and kissed Kira.

"Much better." She said. Conner smiled. He looked at Naomi.

"You look great, Naomi." He said. Naomi blushed and looked down shyly.

"Thanks." She said. She looked at Ethan.

"Doesn't Naomi look nice, Ethan?" Kira asked. Ethan was still too stunned to speak. "Ethan!" Kira said, trying to get his attention. Ethan blinked and looked at Kira.

"Uh…Yeah." He looked at Naomi. "You look beautiful." He said softly. Naomi's blush deepened. Ethan walked over and took her hand. He didn't dare kiss her, afraid he'd never want to stop.

"So, how about we go get something to eat?" Conner suggested.

"Sounds good." Kira said. The other two nodded and they all made their way to an area in the park that had a lot of food vendors and picnic tables. Ethan and Conner insisted the girls get tables and they'd get the food and drinks themselves. Kira and Naomi went to find a table.

"Should we sit together or…Separately?" Naomi asked. Kira shrugged.

"It's up to you." Kira said. Part of her wanted to sit with Conner alone, but she knew that Naomi was still a little nervous and probably would want to sit with them. Naomi thought for a second. She looked over to the guys who were standing in line. Conner seemed to be talking to Ethan, but Ethan wasn't paying attention, he was just staring at Naomi. Naomi turned back to Kira.

"I don't know. I mean, I'm afraid if we sit separately I'll say or do something stupid or something and just get totally nervous and not move."

"So we'll sit together." Kira said.

"Okay." Naomi said. She stopped. "But maybe sitting with just Ethan would be a good idea, you know, so we could get some time together and sort of make the foundation of our relationship a little more solid."

"Okay, so we'll sit at different tables." Kira said. Naomi nodded.

"Good idea." She said. "But what if-"

"Naomi!" Kira said, laughing. "How about you guys sit by yourselves, and if you start to get nervous or whatever, say something like 'oh, how about we go see what Kira and Conner are up to?' or something like that?" Kira said. Naomi smiled.

"Great idea. You're a genius." Naomi said.

"Well, can't deny that." Kira said. Both girls laughed before they parted to get their own tables. Over at the hot dog stand, Conner looked at Ethan.

"Dude, if you keep staring, you'll burn a hole right through her." He joked. Ethan sighed and looked at Conner.

"Sorry, I just…" He looked back at Naomi. "She looks………really great……..doesn't she?" Conner laughed.

"Yeah, she looks nice. I'm telling you though, if she had dressed like that on a regular basis for school, you would have had a whole lot more competition from the guys in school." Conner said.

"I'm just……Nervous."

"Ya don't say." Conner commented.

"And I feel so….I mean, look at her…….and look at me….." Ethan said. He had worn a pair of blue jeans, a white t-shirt and a plaid blue over shirt over it. "I feel so inadequate."

"Dude, will you shut up? You are so not inadequate." Conner said. They soon purchased hot dogs and sodas and went to the tables to join their respective dates. Naomi smiled up at Ethan as he set the food down and sat across from her. He paused for a second.

"Oh, I almost forgot." He said. He got up and reached into his pocket. He pulled out a necklace. Naomi instantly recognized the tear drop and smiled. "My sister had some chains she used to use when she was younger in her old room, so I just took one. I mean, it's only temporary, until I can get a brand new chain." He said. Naomi shook her head.

"No, no, its fine just the way it is." She said. She looked at the necklace. "Could you.." She said, her voice trailing off.

"Oh, yeah, of course." He said. He quickly climbed over the bench and went over to her. Naomi lifted her hair up and Ethan put the necklace around her neck. He fastened the clasp. Naomi looked down and saw the pendant resting on her chest. She smiled and placed her hand on it. She let her hair go and looked up at Ethan.

"Thank you." She said. Ethan smiled. He bended at the waist and put his hands on the top of her arms. He leaned in and planted a kiss on her neck. Naomi smiled. Ethan let go and returned to his seat. From another table, not too far off, Kira was carefully watching the couple.

"Would you like a pair of binoculars?" Conner asked. Kira looked at him.

"What?"

"It'll make spying much easier." He said with a smirk.

"I'm not spying." Kira said. "Just, making sure everything is going okay."

"I'm sure they're fine." Conner said. He reached over and took her hand in his.

"I know. I just…Ethan and Naomi are our friends, and it's taken them a long time to get to this point."

"Yeah, it has." Conner said. "But we've got to step back and let our little ones grow up." Conner joked. Kira laughed. Back at the other table, Naomi and Ethan were eating their hotdogs and drinking their soda.

"So, how freaked did your parents get when you walked out of the house like that?" Ethan asked. Naomi chuckled.

"Not freaked at all. But that's because Kira gave me her sweater to cover it up." She said. She looked down. "All though sometimes I think I could probably walk out of the house stark naked and my parents wouldn't bat an eye." She muttered. Ethan looked at her.

"What do you mean?" Ethan asked. Naomi sighed.

"It's nothing." She said. Ethan took her hands in his.

"Tell me." He said. Naomi opened her mouth, unsure what to say. She had been feeling these things for as long as she could remember, but she never let it out. She never talked about it. She never wanted to. You don't share your dirty laundry with others, she always thought. But something about Ethan's eyes made her not want to hold back anymore. Naomi looked down.

"Sometimes I think that my parents wished they didn't have a child." Naomi said softly. Ethan stared at her, urging her to continue. "They were always more wrapped up in their own lives then with mine." She gave a short bitter laugh. "They're the reason I do so well in school. I always wanted to get perfect grades so teachers didn't feel the need to call them in, and I'd have to explain why they can't come to a meeting." She looked up at Ethan. "I mean, what kind of parents stick a seven year old in boarding school?"

"But, I thought you and your parents got along all right. I mean, the first day you came to school and I came over to your house, your mom seemed-"

"I was being hopeful that now that we were here and I was out of boarding school, things would be different." Naomi said. She sighed. "But, I was wrong." Naomi pulled her hands back and crossed her arms on the table, feeling a little vulnerable after telling him that. "They're not the most attentive bunch. I remember when I was younger, like three or something, I would call the nanny 'mommy' because I saw her more often then I did my actual mother." She paused, as she seemed to bring up that memory in her head. "Her name was Carmella. She was so nice, and warm. But, my parents fired her."

"Why?"

"Because it was my 7th birthday and they weren't there and she told them that they should spend more time with me and that it wasn't right what they were doing, blah blah blah." She said. "They didn't like the 'help' talking back to them, so they fired her. After that, I ended up in boarding school."

"Did you ever talk with your parents how you feel? I mean maybe-" Ethan began. Naomi gave another short bitter laugh.

"People don't 'talk' in the Carlton house." Naomi said. "At least not like that. We say civil things like hello, see ya, and when either of my parents ask me something I answer like the good little girl I am. I don't know, maybe it's my fault. I always thought that if I didn't make waves and was the perfect little girl, they'd love me more and spend more time with me. After a while, I realized it was a futile effort, but I just kept on going. By that time, I didn't want my parents digging in my life, so I kept getting good grades, kept smiling, kept doing everything I had to do to make them think I was all right." She looked down. As much as she hadn't wanted to talk about it before, talking about it to Ethan did help. She felt like she was breathing easier then she had in the past ten years. She looked up at Ethan. "You know the world is ending when even the most seemingly all together girl's life has some cracks in it." She said cynically. She couldn't bring herself to look up at Ethan, afraid what he might say. Ethan reached over and pulled one of her arms back, taking hold of her hand with both of his. Naomi looked up a bit, but not completely. He didn't say anything, there was nothing he could say. Naomi took a deep breath. "And I've now officially brought down the date." She said. Ethan shook his head.

"No." He said. "I just wish you told me sooner." He said. Naomi looked up at him.

"I've never told anyone. I just," she paused, shrugging her shoulders a bit. "I didn't want to have the whole pity thing and I just didn't think it was important."

"Your parents not being around for you _is_ important." Ethan said. He looked at her. "Have you guys ever thought about going to family counseling?" Ethan asked. Naomi shook her head.

"My parents don't think there's a problem." She said. "I spend most of my nights in an empty house and they don't think there's a problem." Naomi said, her chin quivered as she tried to hold in tears. "And even when they are home, they might as well not be." A few tears slid down. She sighed and wiped at them. She took a deep breath and swallowed the lump that was forming in her throat. "They do the whole providing for me thing, you know, clothes, allowance, stuff like that so it's not like I'm neglected it's just…." She looked off for a second. "And the funny thing is, I don't want it to change. I've gotten so used to them not being involved that I don't want them to suddenly be involved."

"So, you have no intention of ever talking to them about it?" Ethan asked.

"No, I don't." Naomi said. "It's gone on for too long for it to change. Besides, if I ever did say something and they became attentive and everything, I'd always wonder if it was real or was it just because I said something." She cleared her throat and sat up straight, signifying she was trying to get out of the teary mood she was in. She put on a smile. "But it's okay." She said. "I mean, I've got you, Conner, Kira, Dr. Oliver, Dr. Hart, Trini and Haley. I'm happy." She said. She gave a small nod. "I think the most happy I've been since I was a little girl." She added. Ethan looked at her. He was a little shocked. He was so sure that the happy Naomi he first met was the real one and that all the changes that happened when they stayed with Tommy were because of the stress. Apparently it was the other way around. Ethan returned the smile.

"I'm glad I could be a part of the whole making Naomi happy process." Ethan said. Naomi laughed. The happier mood of the two returned and they continued to eat their food and drink their drinks.


	34. Distraction

After they finished eating, Ethan excused himself to the restroom. He got up and went to find the public men's room in the park. Naomi got up and went to throw out their trash while she waited for him to return. She was inches from the trashcan when one of the empty cans of soda slipped out of her grasp. She rolled her eyes and bent down to pick it up. When she got back up, two guys were standing between her and the trashcan. They both wore jeans and had on lettermen's jackets. One was African American, the other Caucasian. Naomi recognized them from school but couldn't remember their names. Naomi gave them a courteous smile and tried to get past.

"Hey, there, gorgeous." One of the guys said. "What you doing here all by your lonesome?" She didn't respond as she tossed the garbage in the trashcan and went to return to her table. The two guys blocked her way.

"Excuse me." Naomi said as she tried to get past them, one of them sidestepped and blocked her again.

"My friend asked you a question." He said. Naomi didn't want to respond to these guys but she knew if she didn't they'd keep bugging her.

"I'm just hanging with some friends." She said. She went to leave again. The Caucasian guy went and put an arm around her shoulders. Naomi's body stiffened.

"Hey, you're in my English class, right?" He asked. "Naomi, right?"

"Uh, yeah." Naomi said, trying to shrug his arm off, but he wouldn't move it. He looked down at her.

"You look different." He said. "Tyrone, doesn't Naomi look different?" He asked his friend. Tyrone laughed, looking at her up and down. His eyes stopped on her chest. Naomi felt extremely uncomfortable and crossed her arms over her chest. She looked around, hoping Ethan would be back right that second.

"Yeah, real different." He said. Kira and Conner were at their table when they saw the two bothering Naomi. At first they thought Naomi was just chatting with them, but then they saw one of them put his arm around her and Naomi cross her arms, looking uncomfortable and scared.

"I'm going to go see if everything's all right." Conner said. Kira nodded. Conner got up and walked over to them. Naomi caught sight of him and looked slightly relived. Conner got up to them.

"Hey Rob, Tyrone." He said to the guys. Both guys looked at him.

"Hey, Conner." Rob said. "What's up man? We're just chatting here with Naomi." He said, pulling her closer to him.

"Well, it looks like she's not interested in chatting with you guys." Conner said.

"Of course she's interested." Tyrone said. Ethan was coming back from the rest room when he saw Conner, Naomi and two guys from school. He didn't particularly like the way Rob was holding Naomi. He walked up to them.

"Hey guys, what seems to be the problem?" He asked coolly.

"No problem, man." Rob said. "Just getting to know Miss Naomi a little bit." He said.

"Come on, guys, just leave her alone." Conner said. He was trying his best to get the situation over with seeing as Ethan looked like he was inches from punching Rob in the face.

"We're not doing anything wrong." Tyrone said. "Just chillin'."

"Yeah, isn't that right, Naomi?" Rob asked.

"Well, would you mind 'chillin' with your paws off my girlfriend?" Ethan asked, his tone not all that friendly. Rob looked at Ethan, then back at Naomi.

"Sorry, bro." He said. He took his hand off of Naomi. Naomi quickly stepped aside and stood by Ethan. They walked over to Conner and went to head back to the tables. "Didn't know the bitch was already paid for." Rob said. Tyrone laughed. Conner and Ethan spun around and looked like they wanted to take turns ripping Rob and Tyrone to shreds. Naomi winced and took both of their hands.

"Hey, guys, let's just go." She said.

"Oh…..I see." Rob said. "You two split the cost and share her?" He said, laughing. Kira saw Naomi trying her best to pull Conner and Ethan away from the other two, but they weren't budging. Kira sighed and stood up. She jogged over.

"You've got five seconds to apologize." Ethan said lowly.

"Ohhh. And what's going to happen after those five seconds?" Rob asked.

"We'll beat the shit out of you." Conner said.

"Guys, come on, let's just drop it." Naomi said. She looked over and saw Kira come up to them. Naomi sighed with relief at the fact that she now had some help holding the guys back.

"What's going on?" Kira asked.

"Hey, Kira." Tyrone said, smirking. He looked at how she was dressed in her normal attire. He looked at Conner. "I'm guessing she was ½ price." He said.

"You son of a bit-" Conner growled. He and Ethan broke free of Naomi and went to run at Rob and Tyrone. Naomi and Kira both ran and got in front of the guys, pushing them back.

"Conner, don't pay attention to him, just relax." Kira pleaded, pushing him back.

"Come on Ethan, just forget about them." Naomi said. Conner and Ethan stopped moving forward, but still fixed Rob and Tyrone with death glares.

"Naomi, Kira, I suggest you two move out of the way so we can kick the shit out of these guys." Conner said. Ethan grunted his agreement to Conner's statement.

"Guys, let's just walk away." Kira pleaded. Conner looked down at Kira and groaned.

"Fine." He spat out, looking back towards Rob and Tyrone. Ethan wasn't as quick to stand down.

"Come on, Ethan, let's just enjoy the rest of our date and forget about these losers." Naomi begged. Ethan sighed.

"All right." He looked at Rob. "But if you **ever **touch my girlfriend again, you won't live to regret it." Conner and Kira began to walk away hand in hand as Naomi and Ethan followed. Ethan put his arm around her shoulders and she wrapped her arms around his waist.

"Hey, girls, when you're done with them, how about we talk about getting a discount?" Tyrone asked. Rob laughed. Naomi and Kira both stopped in their tracks. They looked at each other, as if reading one another's thoughts. They smiled and looked back at them. Kira slowly walked up to Tyrone while Naomi walked up to Rob. Kira put her hands on Tyrone's shoulders.

"You want a discount, baby?" She asked. Tyrone smirked.

"Yeah." He said. Kira gave a sultry laugh. She leaned in, as if to kiss him. Rob looked at Naomi. She gave him a seductive smile. Kira's knee slammed into Tyrone's groin with incredible force. At the same time, Naomi grunted as she swung her right fist out, punching Rob in the jaw. Both guys grunted and groaned as they fell to the ground. Ethan and Conner watched them with shocked expressions.

"Here's a little tip, boneheads." Kira said to the injured boys. "Try respecting females for once."

"And keep your grubby little paws to yourselves." Naomi said. The two girls spun around and slowly walked back to their boyfriends.

"Let's go." Kira said. She and Naomi walked together with their arms linked, making Conner and Ethan follow. They walked past the tables and came to a field in the park.

"Uh, is anyone going to talk about what just happened?" Conner asked. Kira looked at him.

"Shh. We're still reveling in the total woman empowerment moment we just hand." She said. Conner and Ethan looked at them. After a few seconds, both Kira and Naomi broke out into laughter.

"Oh my god, that was so great!" Naomi said.

"We so rule!" Kira said. The two gave each other high five. Naomi winced and doubled over slightly, holding her right hand in her left hand. "What's wrong?" Kira asked.

"I think I broke my hand when I punched Rob." Naomi said with a laugh. She shook her hand a bit. "It's not broken, just hurts like hell." She said. "But, it was worth it." Naomi added with a smirk.

"So, let me get this straight, we couldn't beat the crap out of those guys, but you could?" Ethan asked.

"In a nutshell." Naomi said.

"See, you guys wanted to beat them up because you wanted to do that whole 'defending our honor' thing," Kira said.

"Which, by the way, is so like 19th century." Naomi chimed in.

"But what we did was us standing up for ourselves and being strong independent women." Kira concluded.

"Exactly." Naomi said

"What is it with you and suddenly becoming Xena on guys' asses?" Ethan asked Naomi. "First Trent, and now Rob?" Naomi grinned.

"I'm just a modern woman, baby." She said. Ethan rolled his eyes and shook his head. He took off his blue over shirt. He walked over to her and put the shirt over her shoulders.

"Here, so no one else tries to stare at your 'modern woman'-ness." Ethan joked. Naomi laughed.

"Thanks." She said. She slid her arms into the short sleeves.

"I wonder if Rob and Tyrone are still withering on the ground in pain." Kira said out loud. Conner sighed and put his arm around her.

"I wouldn't be surprised. I think you've made Tyrone sterile." Conner said.

"Woohoo." Naomi and Kira said at the same time. They looked at each other and laughed. The four of them ended up walking to the middle of the field and sitting down, each couple at their own spot.

"How's your hand?" Ethan asked Naomi once they sat down.

"It's ok." She said. The four teens stayed in the field for a while longer, talking and cuddling. Naomi looked over at Kira and Conner and saw they two of them were in the middle of a major make out session. Naomi chuckled softly. Ethan looked over to see what was so funny and rolled his eyes.

"They sure don't waste any time, do they?" Ethan asked. Naomi laughed softly. She looked at Ethan. Ethan looked at her.

"So, why are we wasting time?" She asked with a smirk. Ethan smiled softly. He pulled her a little closer to him and leaned his head down. Naomi's eyes drifted shut as there lips were about to make contact. Unfortunately, it was interrupted by Ethan's communicator going off.

"Damn." Ethan muttered. Naomi sighed and looked over, seeing Kira's and Conner's had gone off too. They got up and walked over to Naomi and Ethan. Ethan brought his communicator up to his mouth.

"What's up?" He asked.

"Guys, there's a monster attacking downtown." Came Tommy's voice.

"All right, we'll be right there." Kira said.

"Conner-" Tommy began to say.

"I know, I know, I'm still warming the bench, got it." Conner groaned, feeling utterly useless. Kira gave her boyfriend a sympathetic look. The four teens got up.

"Duty calls." Ethan said, looking at Naomi.

"Go kick some monster butt." Naomi said. Ethan leaned in and kissed her softly. Kira gave Conner a kiss. Naomi walked over to Conner as Kira and Ethan left. Conner sighed. Naomi looked at him. She put a friendly hand on his shoulder and smiled at him. "Hey, how about we go see what Haley's up to?" She asked.

"Sure." Conner said, giving a forced smile. They left the park. They walked to Cyberspace. It was getting close to closing time so the place was virtually empty. There were a few people here and there, but not a lot. Naomi saw Kimberly sitting at a table with Trini. She walked over to the table with Conner close behind her.

"Hey guys." Naomi said as she and Conner sat down.

"Hi." Trini said. Kimberly smiled at them. She looked at Naomi.

"You look nice today……Oh, don't tell me, you guys were in the middle of the double date thing?" She asked. Naomi and Conner nodded. Kimberly gave them a sympathetic look.

"Yeah, unfortunately that tends to happen. I remember this one time Tommy and I had a date and not only did it get interrupted by putties, but Rita turned my purse and my lipstick into monsters." She said. Naomi and Conner looked at her.

"Okay, you win." Naomi said. After a while, the few remaining other customers left, leaving only Conner, Kimberly, Trini, Naomi and Haley. Haley flipped the closed/open sign on the door to closed and sat with the others. She left the door unlocked, since she figured the others would come to cyberspace after they dealt with the monster situation. They all talked for a little longer before they all decided to help Haley clean up for the night. Conner began stacking the chairs on the tables while Haley wiped down the counter and Kimberly and Naomi swept the floor. Trini sat on one of the stools and watched them go about. Suddenly, the door opened. Haley looked up.

"Sorry, we're clo….." She stopped. "Trent?" She said. Everyone turned to look at the door, and sure enough, there stood Trent. He looked different. His face seemed dark, yet blank at the same time. His eyes were glazed over. His hair was disheveled. He looked at them all and snarled lowly, his upper lip twitching like a dog ready to attack. Kimberly grabbed Naomi and stood in front of her and Trini. Conner looked at Trent.

"Hey, man, we don't want any trouble, so how about you just get out of here?" He said.

"Well, there comes the problem, red ranger, because we do want trouble." Said a voice. Everyone spun around and saw Anton standing by the backdoor.

"Anton?" Kimberly asked, her voice shaking. "What are you doing here?"

"And who are you calling red ranger?" Conner asked, trying to act as if he had no idea what this man was getting at. Anton scoffed gently.

"Please, I'm in no mood for games, boy." Anton said. He walked over to where Kimberly, Naomi and Trini stood. Kimberly glared at him straight in the eye, determined in protecting Trini and Naomi from him.

"What do you want?" She asked lowly.

"Well, it's funny that you ask," Anton said. "The three of you." He said.

"Leave them alone." Conner ordered. Anton looked at him. He took a step back. He closed his eyes. Haley, Trini, Naomi, Conner and Kimberly watched in horror as his body slowly began to transform. His face, his hands, everything got larger, until finally where Anton stood before, stood a large half man/half dinosaur creature. Conner's breath caught in his throat.

"Mesogog." He whispered.

"Correct." Mesogog hissed out. Trini started to cry. Mesogog looked in her direction.

"Oh, don't be scared of your dear old father, darling." He said.

"Get away from us!" Kimberly yelled. Suddenly, a large group of tyranadrones appeared right behind him. "Get them." He said. The tyranadrones ran to attack. Conner ran at them and began to fight them.

"Guys, get out of here!" Conner cried out. He tried his best to hold them off, but there were too many tyranadrones. Haley came out from behind the counter and went over to the other three. Kimberly took Naomi and Trini's hands and slowly the four of them backed away. They were almost at the front door, when they almost ran into Trent. He stood there like some sort of sentry.

"Trent, Trent, listen to me, I'm sure there's still some good left in you, so just let us out and, agh!" Haley was cut off by Trent grabbing her by the neck and lifting her off the ground.

"Let her go!" Naomi screamed. Trent tossed Haley against a far wall. Haley hit the wall and slumped to the floor, unconscious. He turned his attention to the remaining three. Kimberly, Naomi and Trini turned around and ran, hoping to get to the backdoor. Kimberly then felt Trini being ripped from her grasp.

"Mommy!" The small girl wailed.

Kimberly and Naomi stopped, and so did the fighting in the room. They looked over to Conner. His nose was bleeding and he was being held up by some Tyranadrones. He looked like he was inches from unconsciousness. Another tyranadrone held Trini, its arm pressed against her neck. Mesogog gave what looked like a smirk. He gave a quick look around the room before looking at Kimberly.

"It looks like you've run out of protectors." He said, referring to Haley's unconscious state and Conner's barely conscious state.

"Tell your goon to let go of my daughter." Kimberly said lowly.

"Ah, ah, ah, _our _daughter." He corrected. "And the only thing I will tell him to do is break her little neck…"

"No!" Kimberly screamed.

"…If you and the girl do not cooperate." Mesogog said, finishing his sentence.

"Leave her out of this." Kimberly said.

"Cooperate, or the child dies." Mesogog said, firmly. Kimberly looked at Naomi. In an instant, the tyranadrones that were holding Conner dropped him on the floor and ran at Kimberly and Naomi, grabbing their arms and forcing them behind their backs.

"All right, you got what you wanted, now let Trini go." Naomi said.

"Who said anything about letting her go?" Mesogog asked. "I just won't kill her….Yet." He said. Kimberly and Naomi's eyes widened. Before either could struggle, they all disappeared via invisportal. Conner watched them leave right before slowly sinking into unconsciousness.


	35. Chasm

Well, here it is, the last part of the mother of all chapters...Enjoy.

-

Tommy, Kira and Ethan had been busy fighting off one of Mesogog's monsters and Elsa. They were able to destroy the monster, leaving Elsa standing there. They prepared for her to attack, but she just stood there. She looked at the rangers with a sneaky smile.

"Good bye rangers." She said, and with that she left through an invisportal.

"Okay, what was that?" Ethan asked.

"Not sure." Tommy said. They all powered down.

"Is it just me, or was that monster way too easy?" Kira asked, looking at the other two.

"Yeah, the thing barely put up a fight." Ethan said. Tommy looked pensive for a second.

"Something doesn't feel right." He said.

"What?" Kira asked. He blinked and looked at the two teens.

"I think they were just distracting us." Tommy said. "Where are Conner and Naomi?" He asked.

"They probably went to Cyberspace." Kira said.

"Wait…..You don't think..?" Ethan began. He didn't even bother to finish his sentence as the three of them ran off in the direction of Cyberspace. Once they got their, the three of them burst in. They all froze. Tables and chairs were overturned, as if there had been some sort of fight. Kira's eyes widened when she saw Conner.

"Oh my god." She gasped, running to his side. They heard someone moaning. Tommy and Ethan looked over and saw Haley trying to sit up. They went to her.

"Haley, are you okay?" Tommy asked he supported her back and head.

"…….Where's everyone?" She asked.

"Kira's taking care of Conner." Ethan said.

"No," Haley said. "Kim, Trini and Naomi." She said. Ethan jumped to his feet and began searching around the café. He then went out the back door. Kira gently turned Conner onto his back, she put his head on her lap.

"Conner, Conner, wake up." She said gently. Tommy helped Haley get to her feet and had her sit down in one of the chairs. He then went over and tried to help Kira revive Conner. Ethan ran back in.

"I can't find them, anywhere." He told them. Conner's eyes slowly opened. He looked up at Tommy and Kira.

"Oh, my head.." He muttered. Kira and Tommy both helped him sit up. He leaned against the counter. Kira grabbed some napkins and wiped up some of the blood from his face.

"What happened?" Tommy asked Haley and Conner. Conner blinked as the fog in his head cleared. He looked at the others.

"Mesogog." He said. "Mesogog's got Naomi, Kimberly and Trini." He said.

-

"Naomi." Said a voice. "Sweetie, wake up." Naomi's eyes slowly opened as she regained consciousness…Although she didn't remember losing consciousness in the first place. She blinked a few times as her head began to clear. She saw Kimberly's face.

"Dr. Hart?" She said. She slowly sat up and looked around. The place was dark with a slight odor of chemicals. She saw that they were in some sort of cage……..And then realized it wasn't on the ground. She slowly got up and walked to the side of the cage and looked through the bars. There was some sort of rope that was holding the cage up which was connected to some type of harness. The harness had a chain that led down to a pulley. She then looked down. She expected to see the floor…..But there was no floor below them. Right below them was a wide chasm. Inside the chasm was just darkness. "Oh my god." Naomi said. Her knees gave out as she slowly slid back to the floor of the cage. She turned around and saw Kimberly sitting in the center of the cage and Trini sitting huddled in the corner. "Wh-Where are we? What happened? The last thing I remember were those things grabbed us." Naomi said, a tremble in her voice. Kimberly sighed. She went over and put an arm around Naomi's shoulders.

"I don't know. My guess is they knocked us out at some point, probably so it would be easier to get us in this thing." She said.

"Mommy, I'm scared." Trini whimpered. She slowly crawled over to them. Kimberly took her and set her in between herself and Naomi on her lap. She put her other arm across Trini's mid-section and placed her hand on Naomi's shoulder where her other hand was. Naomi put her arms around Trini's waist and held her close to herself and Kimberly. The three of them sat huddled together, waiting for what might happen next.

-

The others were in the lab, trying to figure out where Mesogog might've taken the girls. Haley was working at the computers, trying to find something…..Anything that could give them a clue.

"You got anything yet?" Tommy asked her.

"No." Haley said. "I'm getting the same thing I was getting the last time you asked me ten seconds ago, nothing." Haley said.

"Well, keep looking." Tommy said. Haley looked at him.

"Tommy, we'll find them." She assured him. Tommy sighed and walked up to his house and into the living room. Conner was lying on the couch with his head on Kira's lap while Ethan anxiously paced back in forth. He stopped when he saw Tommy come in.

"Anything?" Kira asked. Tommy shook his head. Ethan gave a pained sigh and continued pacing. Conner looked at Ethan and Tommy.

"I'm sorry." He said to them. "I should've been able to protect them. It's all my fault."

"Don't blame yourself for this." Kira said gently, sweeping his hair off his forehead.

"Kira's right. It's not your fault." Tommy said. Ethan didn't say anything. Tommy went over to him and put a hand on his shoulder, forcing him to stop. "Ethan, calm down." He said. Ethan gave him an incredulous look.

"Calm down?" Ethan asked. "Calm down? How can you say that?" He brushed Tommy's hand off his shoulder. "How can you be so calm right now? They've been kidnapped!"

"I know that." Tommy said. "Don't you think my insides are churning and I'm scared out of my mind right now? But pacing around my living room isn't going to bring them back. We need to keep a level head right now." Tommy said.

"I can't keep a level head right now." Ethan said. "Mesogog's got my girlfriend."

"And my fiancé and her daughter." Tommy said. "Just sit down and take a deep breath."

"I don't understand." Kira said. "I mean, why would Mesogog take them?"

"Because we care about them." Ethan said.

"Yeah, but why them? I mean, why not Haley too? There's got to be more to it then that." Kira said. Conner looked up at the others. _There's something…….Something more………..I can't……..I can't remember………._ He thought.

"They probably took Naomi because of all the run-ins she's had with them and the fact that she was the first one to find out Trent was the white ranger." Tommy said. _Mesogog………Mer………Mercergog………………Mesocer……._Conner squeezed his eyes shut has he tried to make sense of his thoughts.

"Naomi makes sense, even Kimberly makes sense, but why Trini?" Kira asked. Conner's eyes suddenly popped open. _I remember! _He sat up quickly. "Conner?"

"Mercer is Mesogog!" He exclaimed quickly. The others looked at him.

"What?" Tommy asked.

"Anton Mercer……..He's Mesogog." Conner said. Tommy literally felt his heart stop.

"And he's Trini's father." He muttered softly to himself. His head quickly shot up as he ran back down to the lab. Ethan and Kira looked at each other and then followed, leaving Conner there on the couch. Tommy quickly ran down the steps. "Haley, try narrowing down the search to buildings owned by Mercer Industries." Haley looked up at him.

"What?"

"Just do it." He said.

"Okay." Haley said. Tommy stood next to Haley. Kira and Ethan soon showed up and stood on the other side of her.

"Why would Mesogog be using Mercer Industries' property?" Haley said.

"Because Mesogog and Mercer are the same person." Ethan said.

-

Back in the cage, Kimberly was holding a still crying and whimpering Trini while Naomi, feeling anxious and scared, began pacing around the cage. Kimberly was trying her hardest to remain calm for Trini's sake.

"Where are they?" Naomi asked aloud.

"Don't worry, Tommy and the others will find us." Kimberly assured her.

"No, not them. I mean _them_, the jerks who put us in here." Naomi said. She tightly gripped two of the bars and leaned her forehead against it. "We've been here for over an hour, and that's without counting whatever time passed while we were out cold, I can't take it anymore. What's going to happen to us? Are they just going to keep us here like little canaries or drop-"

"Naomi." Kimberly said sternly. She slowly slid Trini out of her arms. Trini whimpered and tried to cling onto her mother. "Hang on, sweetie." She said. She stood up and walked over to Naomi. She stood right next to her and leaned her head close to hers. "Look, I'm scared too." She whispered.. "But right now all I care about is making sure you and Trini are safe."

"We're in a human birdcage over a chasm, I really don't think we're safe right now." Naomi replied in a deadpan tone.

"And you being negative isn't going to change that." Kimberly hissed. "I am trying to keep my daughter from being hysterical, and you're not exactly helping. So you've got two choices. Either you sit down with me and Trini and try to calm down, or you shut up." Naomi blinked and looked at her, surprised by the harshness of her tone.

"Fine." Naomi said through clenched teeth. She sat at the far corner of the cage. Kimberly sighed and sat back down with Trini.

-

"Tommy, I think I've got something." Haley said. Tommy, Kira and Ethan, who had been off in different places of the lab, anxiously waiting news, all ran over to her.

"What is it?" Tommy asked. Haley had a map on the screen, she pointed to a location.

"This is one of Mercer Industries' labs. I've been picking up some strange atmospheric activity going on there. It might be where he's holding the girls."

"Might be? Might be isn't good enough." Ethan said.

"I can't exactly do an accurate location reading on the girls. I'm just going by anything that's out of the ordinary." Haley said.

"All right, let's go." Tommy said. They heard stumbling from the stairs and all turned to see Conner trying to come down the stairs. He gripped the railing with one hand and used the other to support himself on the wall.

"Wait," he said. "I'm going with you."

"Conner, you're hardly able to stand." Kira said. She went over to him. "Just stay here." She said, cupping his face in her hands. Conner shook his head, freeing himself from her. He slowly walked over to Tommy.

"Dr. O, please, let me help."

"Conner, you're still recovering and you just got beat up by tyranadrones, you can't-" Tommy began to explain. Conner's face contorted into that of anger.

"Bull shit!" He yelled. "I'm part of this team. I'm sick and tired of sitting on the sidelines. Trini, Dr. Hart and Naomi are in trouble, and I'm not going to sit here and just twiddle my goddamn thumbs and wait until you come back!"

"You're not strong enough yet." Tommy said, trying not to let Conner's tone and words make him angry.

"You're not stopping me." Conner said defiantly. Tommy looked at him. He really didn't want to go where he was thinking of going, but Conner's stubbornness left him no choice.

"You were weak at Cyberspace." Tommy said. "You got beat too easily, resulting in the three of them getting taken. Do you think I'm going to let you go out there in an even worse state and risk not only your life but their lives as well?" Everyone stared at Tommy, shocked he'd be so cold about it. "So it's best if you just stayed here." Conner's jaw tightened.

"I know it's my fault." Conner said. "And that's making me want to help them even more. I don't care what you say, I'm going." He said. He turned on his heel and went to leave the lab.

"Conner?" Tommy called after him. Conner spun around.

"What?" He asked in an angry tone.

"Since you're so determined in going, we might as well try and give you some kind of power boost so you don't end up repeating what happened in Cyberspace." Tommy said. He walked off to one of the computers, leaving the others still stunned. After a while, they came to the conclusion that the most effective boost would have to come from Tommy, Kira and Ethan's gems.

"Won't this leave us a little weak to fight?" Ethan asked. Tommy shook his head.

"You might not be at full capacity strength, but more then enough." Haley chimed in.

"All right, let's do this." Conner said. The rangers all gathered around. Kira, Ethan and Tommy each put their wrists in a circle. The three gems slowly began to glow as blue, yellow and black beams of light shot out from them. The three beams twisted into each other making a mixture of the three colors. After that, the now unified beam hit Conner right in the chest, causing him to fall back a bit. The others quickly broke the circle and ran to his side.

"Are you okay?" Kira asked. Conner sat up.

"Yeah." He said. "More okay then ever." He said.

"Good, it worked. Let's go." Tommy said.

-

Mesogog, Zeltrax, Elsa and Trent all walked into where the girls were being held. Although, Trent was more hunched over and walking like some type of ape. Mesogog looked at the three of them and smiled.

"And how are my little birdies? Done any singing?" He asked.

"Fuck you, creep." Naomi spat at him. Mesogog laughed.

"Such a spirited girl." He said. He looked at Kimberly. "Reminds me of you all those years ago." He said. Kimberly simply glared at him and held Trini to her tighter. "You must be wondering why it is I've brought you here." He said.

"We figured it was because you're an evil psychotic monster." Naomi said.

"Naomi, be quiet." Kimberly hissed, afraid she'd get Mesogog mad enough that he might do something.

"Below you," Mesogog said, going into a speech as if he didn't pay a single thought about what Naomi said. "Is a portal. At the end of said portal is a little dimension I've created. A barren wasteland where my creations roam free. Consider it practice. My preparation for bringing on the age of the dinosaur to every living creature on this miserable planet. My little pets are so desperate for fresh meat. Shall we test how long ordinary humans fare against them?"

"You're using us as guinea pigs in your experiment with playing God?" Kimberly asked, utterly disgusted.

"Ah, dear Kimberly, of course not." He said. "I would consider you to be lab rats, if anything." He said before giving an evil laugh.

"Fine, you can use me in your little test, but let Naomi and Trini go." Kimberly said.

"I'm sorry, the chasm as already been set to automatically close once three people are in it. You wouldn't want this to stay open, would you?" He asked sarcastically.

"And what makes you think this will work?" Naomi asked. "Newsflash, the good guys always come and save the day." She said. Mesogog glared at her.

"I'm getting sick of your voice." He said. He pulled one of his arms back and sent a ball of energy in Naomi's direction. Naomi barely had time to move before it slammed against the cage, making it creak and sway. Naomi shrieked as she stumbled backwards by using her feet and hands. Kimberly grabbed her and put an arm across her chest, holding Naomi to her by her shoulders.

"Oh god, oh god." Naomi said. "Dr. Hart, remind me to always take your advice." Naomi said, panting from fear. Kimberly sighed.

"Will do." She said.

"So, in situations like this, the good guys do come and rescue the captives, right?" Naomi asked. "I mean, they usually find a way to make it to the location with just seconds to spare, but they do get here, right?"

"Everything's going to be all right." Kimberly assured her. "I know Tommy, he and the others are probably on their way here as we speak." _Come on, Handsome, don't' make a liar out of me. _Kimberly thought to herself.

-

The rangers roared to the location Haley gave them on the raptor cycles. Tommy rode ahead with the others behind him. Conner sped up a bit and caught up to Tommy so they were riding alongside one another.

"Dr. O." He said. "I just wanted to apologize for exploding on you like that." He said. Tommy gave him a quick sideways glance. He turned back to the road ahead of them.

"I should be the one apologizing. I didn't mean it when I said this was your fault. It's not. The only ones to blame are Mesogog and his freaks." Tommy gripped the handle bars of his bike. _And when I get my hands on you, Mesogog, you'll wish you never met me. _He thought to himself, wanting to rip Mesogog/Anton to shreds for kidnapping his family and for causing all the pain to Kimberly in the past.

"We'll get them back." Conner said, as if he knew what Tommy was thinking. "We'll save them." He said. Tommy didn't say anything, but took comfort in Conner's words.

-

"Begin lowering the cage." Mesogog said loudly to Elsa who was standing by the pulley.

"Yes master." She said. She began turning the crank. The cage slowly got closer and closer into the chasm.

"No!" Naomi screamed, running to the side of the cage that faced where Elsa stood. "Stop!" Naomi pleaded. Trini screamed.

"Shh, shh." Kimberly said, holding Trini even closer. "its okay, it's okay, daddy's going to come get us, you'll see." She said gently, trying to sooth her child. _Come on, guys, get the led out! _She mentally screamed. Suddenly a blast hit Elsa, sending her stumbling backwards and releasing the crank, making the cage come to a sudden stop.

"What is the meaning of this!" Mesogog bellowed. All eyes turned to the entrance of the building where Tommy and the other rangers stood. Tommy held his blaster up, signifying he was the one who shot Elsa. Naomi and Kimberly's hearts leapt at seeing them standing there. Trini looked up.

"Daddy!" She yelled excitedly, glad to see he was there to save them. Mesogog spun back around towards them.

"HE IS NOT YOUR FATHER! I AM!" He bellowed angrily. He shot a blast at the cage. It hit the door and caused the cage to rock back and forth. The girls all screamed as they gripped onto the bars to stay steady.

"What kind of father scares his daughter like that?" Conner spat out at him. Mesogog looked at them. He gave an angry growl.

"ATTACK!" He yelled as a few dozen tyranadrones appeared behind him. Zeltrax and the tyranadrones rushed at the rangers. They began to engage in battle. Trent stood back, watching it all take place with the same blank look on his face. Mesogog looked over at Elsa and gave her a curt nod, telling her to continue. Elsa nodded and returned to her previous place at the crank and continued turning it.

"Tommy!" Kimberly screamed. Tommy looked up and saw them being lowered.

"We'll hold these guys off, you go help them." Kira said as she kicked a 'drone. Tommy nodded and quickly ran up the ladder leading to the catwalk where Elsa stood, cackling as she turned the crank. Elsa looked at Tommy.

"Ah, Black ranger, you've come to have a perfect view of the destruction of your precious loved ones." She said with mock sweetness. Tommy slowly brought out his brachio sword.

"I'm afraid that won't be happening." He said lowly. Elsa stood back, releasing the crank, causing the cage to stop short again. She brought out her sword, ready to do battle. Tommy charged at her, his sword held high. Elsa let out a loud cry as she put her sword up, blocking his from making contact with her. Tommy kicked her. She stumbled backwards. Tommy continued coming at her as she jumped back onto her feet. The two began their own battle. Mesogog saw that Elsa was currently occupied and hissed.

"This is taking to long." He said to himself. He looked at the rope that attached the cage to the harness. He smirked evilly as he pulled his arm back and sent a blast to the rope. The girls in the cage shrieked as the cage shook. Naomi fell forward, slamming into the door of the cage which had been damaged from Mesogog's previous blast. The extra weight against the door caused the lock to break. Naomi screamed as she fell backwards. She quickly grabbed onto one of the bars on the door.

"Naomi!" Kimberly shrieked. Ethan, who was fighting Zeltrax, dodged his sword and looked up to see Naomi hanging onto the cage.

"Help!" Naomi screamed. Kimberly's heart raced as she slowly made Trini get behind her. She hooked one of her arms around one of the bars in the back of the cage and leaned forward, trying to present her free hand to Naomi. She stretched as far as she possibly could.

"Naomi! Grab my hand!" He said. Naomi was now barely gripping the bar on the door with her fingers.

"I can't, it's too far!" Kimberly sat back. She looked at Trini as she unhooked her arm from the bar. She then gripped it tightly with her hand.

"Sweetie, I need you to hold onto my wrist. Whatever you do, don't let me let go of the bar, okay?" She asked. Trini slowly nodded. Kimberly took Naomi's arms and made her hook one of hers around the bar. "Hold on tight." She said. Trini clasped her mother's wrist in her small hands as tightly as she could. Kimberly slowly slid out and reached for Naomi again. Even with the added length, she still didn't reach Naomi completely. "Naomi, you're going to have to reach for my hand." She said.

"I can't!" Naomi screamed.

"Yes you can!" Kimberly said. "I'm not going to let you fall, now reach for my hand." Kimberly said. Naomi slowly let go of the bar with one of her hands. She reached up for Kimberly's outstretched hand. Above them, the rope began to break from Mesogog's blast. Naomi reached up as far as she could. Their fingertips barely touching. "Come on Naomi, just a little more." She coached. A strand of the rope snapped, causing the cage to jerk. Naomi screamed as she fell a bit, her hand out of Kimberly's reach. Her other hand slowly began to loose its grip on the bar.

"I can't hold on much longer!" Naomi yelled, panic filling her voice. Ethan looked at the others. None were in the position to help her. Tommy was busy fighting off Elsa. Every time he managed to knock her down, he tried to get to the crank, only to have Elsa jump up and tackle him, keeping him from his destination. Conner and Kira were swamped with tyranadrones and he himself was battling Zeltrax.

"Come on, blue ranger, fight!" Zeltrax roared as he swung his sword at him. Ethan tore his eyes away from the cage and continued battling Zeltrax. He heard one more shriek, followed by Kimberly yelling.

"Naomi!" She yelled. Ethan looked and saw Naomi loose her grip on the bar and begin to fall.

"No.." He said. Time seemed to go into slow motion as he kicked Zeltrax in the chest, sending him sprawling on his back. Ethan ran as fast as he could towards the chasm, building up momentum. He jumped, his arms and legs moving in a running motion, moving him forward. He grabbed onto Naomi as she fell. The next thing Naomi knew, she was thrown onto the floor by the edge of the chasm. She rolled backwards a bit. She sat up, not understanding what just happened. She gasped as she saw Ethan holding onto the edge, about to fall.

"Ethan!" She exclaimed. She ran to him and grabbed each of his wrists with her hands. "Hang on!" She said. She strained as she tried to pull him up. Mesogog turned to Trent.

"Take care of them." He ordered. Trent grunted. He ran to the chasm, his animalistic mentality giving him the ability to jump to the other side.

"Look out!" Ethan said, seeing Trent coming. Naomi looked up and rolled away, just barely missing Trent's fist as it slammed down. It made a hole in the floor. He grunted and pulled his hand free. He fixed Naomi with a dark glare as he slowly made his way to her. Naomi crawled backwards, moving away from him.

"Get away from her!" Ethan yelled, trying to maintain his grip. Back up in the cage, Kimberly pulled herself back and held onto Trini. The rope continued to snap a bit more.

"Tommy!" Kimberly screamed. "The rope's breaking!" Tommy just finished elbowing Elsa in the face, knocking her out. He ran to the crank.

"Hang on." He said. He turned the crank, bringing the cage up. Naomi slid backwards as Trent swung his fists at her. As Naomi continued scurrying backwards, her hand brushed up against a piece of wood. She turned to see it was one out of a small pile of 2x4s. She looked up just in time to lean back and miss another one of Trent's incoming fist. He swung it into the wall. The plaster broke and dust flew about as his fist broke through it. Naomi took this as her chance. She grabbed onto the 2x4 and got up on her feet. She brought it up and hit Trent as hard as she could in his chin. The boy fell back, his fist slipping free from the broken wall.

"Do not _fuck_ with me, monkey boy!" Naomi snarled. Trent got up, he kicked her hard right on her kneecap. Naomi groaned as she fell down to one knee. Trent turned away from her and slowly made his way to Ethan. Naomi gave a loud growl as she forced herself to stand. "Don't you dare take another step!" She yelled. She charged at him, the 2x4 raised high above her head. Trent turned to her. Even though he was reduced to the mentality of an animal, Trent did still have a sense of self preservation. He saw Naomi coming at him and raised his arms up about his head to block the incoming blow. Naomi slammed the 2x4 down she felt it make contact when suddenly a white spark emerged, sending Trent flying back into a wall and knocking Naomi off her feet. She slowly got up and shook her head. She looked at Trent and saw him slumped against the wall unconscious. She dropped the 2x4 and went back to Ethan.

"What happened?" Ethan asked.

"Not a clue." Naomi replied. Tommy continued bringing the cage up, but the rope snapped again. Kimberly looked up at Tommy. She saw that the cage wasn't too far from him. She looked back at Trini, whose face was pale and tearstained.

"It's okay, baby, its okay." She said. She took Trini's hand and slowly led her to the door of the cage. "Tommy!" She called. "We're close enough to you, don't pull the crank anymore." She said. Tommy stopped. "Okay, you're gonna have to pull us up individually by hand. The rope can't take the our weight much longer." She said.

"All right." Tommy said. Kimberly kneeled down to Trini.

"OK, sweetie, we're almost out of here, you just need to climb up and daddy will grab you." She said. Trini shook her head.

"I'm too scared." She said. "I'll fall."

"I'm going to hold onto you until he's got you, you won't fall." She said. Part of her wondered how much weight her word carried, seeing as she swore to Naomi she wouldn't let her fall, but Naomi fell anyway. Trini gulped and slowly nodded. "Okay." Kimberly said. She took Trini's hand and led her out of the cage. Trini grabbed onto the outside of the cage once she was out. Kimberly held onto the edge so she could hold onto Trini. She looked up and saw Tommy leaning over the edge of the catwalk, his arms stretched. "Okay, climb up to daddy." Kimberly coached. Meanwhile, back on the ground, Mesogog saw the spark that hit Trent and Naomi and knew exactly what it was. He growled loudly and jumped over the chasm. Naomi had some success in pulling Ethan up. She now held onto one his hands with both of hers and he had his other hand on the floor, giving Naomi assistance by pushing himself up.

"Almost there." Naomi said as the only part of him still hanging in the chasm was from the chest downward. Mesogog stalked up to Naomi and gripped the back of her hair tightly, causing her to let go of Ethan, making him fall back down, he held onto the edge. "AH!" She screamed as her hands flew back to her hair. She tired to pry his hand off, but his large claws dig into her hair. Mesogog pulled her head back, dragging her backwards on the floor.

"You disgusting worm, have you any idea what you've done!" He snarled.

"Let me go!" She screamed. Over at the cage, Trini was mere inches away from Tommy's grasp. She reached her hand up, straining to reach him. Kimberly carefully watched, her heart in her throat, afraid that at any moment Trini would fall.

"Got'cha!" Tommy said as he grabbed onto her hand. He pulled her up in his arms, pulling her over the railing. Trini threw her arms around his neck and hugged him. Kimberly let out a long breath, relived that Tommy had her. She couldn't help smile a bit, relieved that she was safe. Tommy hugged her and set her down. He turned back to the cage. "OK, Kim, your turn." He said. Kimberly nodded slightly to herself. She carefully edged out of the cage and grabbed onto the outside. She slowly climbed up, Tommy's outstretched arms her destination. "Come on, Beautiful." Tommy said. Kimberly reached the top of the cage when the cage jerked. She looked up to see the rope was on its final few strands. She quickly jumped, her arms out and she grabbed onto the bottom bar of the railing. She slammed into the bottom of the catwalk. She felt her chin and lip scrape against it and she could taste blood in her mouth from biting her tongue from the impact. Tommy leaned over and went to grab her hand when the rope finally broke and the cage began to fall. The rope flailed about as it began to fall past Kimberly. She took a deep breath and went to reach for Tommy's hand when she suddenly felt something pulling her down. She gasped and looked down to see the rope had become wrapped around her legs, and the weight of the cage was pulling her. "Kim!" Tommy exclaimed, seeing her predicament. Tommy finally grabbed her hand. "I've got you." He said. He tried pulling her up, but she was still being pulled down by the cage.

"Mommy!" Trini yelled. Kimberly grunted as she tried to break free from the rope by swinging her legs back and forth, but it didn't help, all the while, she was slowly slipping out of Tommy's grasp. Tommy strained to hold onto her. Kimberly looked up. Tommy was now just holding onto her fingers. She looked into his eyes. Just a few more seconds and she'd fall. Tommy knew this too.

"No!" He yelled. Kimberly continued slipping.

"Tommy, take care of Trini." She whispered before she slid from his grasp. Tommy watched, unable to speak, as Kimberly disappeared in the chasm. Mesogog threw Naomi to the floor. She got up and backed up against the wall.

"You." He said lowly. "You've interfered in my plans far too much for my liking." He said. Ethan tried to pull himself up but could only get up to his chest. He had to save Naomi. That's when the idea hit him. He groaned as he pushed himself up as far as he could and looked up.

"Hey, Mesogog!" Ethan yelled. Mesogog turned his head, just in time to see Ethan grab onto the bottom of the long black leather robe he wore. The creature was caught off guard and quickly lost his balance when Ethan gave a hard pull. He threw Mesogog over his shoulder and into the chasm, but Mesogog wasn't about to go without a fight. He gripped Ethan's ankle. "AGH!" Ethan yelled as he felt Mesogog's claws dig into the ranger uniform. "Get the hell off me!" Ethan yelled. He kicked his free leg, getting Mesogog in the face. Mesogog growled and pulled at Ethan, using him to climb out of the chasm. Ethan saw that within seconds, Mesogog would be back there, attacking Naomi again, he couldn't let that happen. He _wouldn't _let that happen. Ethan looked at Naomi as she went to grab his hand. "Good bye, Naomi." He whispered. He pushed himself off the edge.

"Ethan!" Naomi screamed. Ethan and Mesogog fell into the darkness.

"No!" Elsa shrieked, she regained consciousness and watched Mesogog fall. She disappeared, along with Zeltrax and the tyranadrones as the ground began to shudder and shake. Naomi stumbled back. Tommy grabbed Trini and quickly ran down to the floor. Kira and Conner saw him.

"We've got to get out of here!" Conner yelled over the loud rumbling. Tommy saw Naomi still on the other side. He handed Trini to Kira.

"I'll get her, you guys get Trini out of here!" He said. He was forcing himself not to sink to the ground and curl up in a little ball at that moment and cry. He was the leader. He had to be strong. He watched Kira and Conner run out of the building. He turned and jumped over the chasm, the piece of the edge he landed on crumbled below his feet. He began to fall but soon felt someone grab onto his arm. He looked over, expecting to see Naomi, but was shocked to see it was Trent. His expression was still blank and his eyes were still glazed over, but he began to pull the black ranger up. Tommy caught sight of Trent's wrist and noticed that the gem was missing from his morpher. He looked up into Trent's eyes. _Is Mesogog's hold on him broken? _Tommy asked himself. Tommy just pulled his legs up onto the ledge when the chasm closed up. He spun around and stared at it, all there was now was solid concrete floor. The rumbling and shaking stopped, and the room was silent.

"No!" Came a shriek. Tommy turned to see Naomi beat her fist on the floor. "Open up!" She sobbed out. "Open up!" She slammed both fists down over and over again. She sobbed as she fell forward, putting her head on her fists. "Give him back!" She pleaded. Tommy went over to her with Trent following him. Tommy knelt beside her and Trent stood at her other side, just looking at her. Tommy took her shoulders in his hands and pulled her up. Naomi turned and buried her head in the his chest, her arms going around his neck. Tommy held her to him as he felt his own tears slide down from inside his helmet.

THE END

-

Authors' notes:

BECKY: Yeah, you read correctly, 'THE END'. What, were you waiting for the happy ending? Bah, happy endings……So overused………This is the end of the story, so deal with it.

TEAL: This is the beginning of the end...

BECKY:….All right, all right, there's gonna be a sequel……but we're gonna make you wait for it! Mwahahahahahahahahahahahaha!


End file.
